The Potter Twins and the Half-Blood Prince
by GryffindorGirl347
Summary: Harry and Emily Potter begin their sixth year at Hogwarts while having to deal with the public and internal pressure of facing Voldemort at some point in their future. Sequel.
1. Things Are Changing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

**Chapter 1**

It was a dark, windy day on Privet Drive and the only sign of life, other than the swaying of the trees, was a small red-headed girl that sat against the brick wall around house number four. That girl was me, Emily Potter. It was there that I found myself at peace from the world around me, somewhere that I couldn't be distracted from the people around me.

Normally I found comfort around my twin brother Harry, but he hadn't been very helpful this summer. Usually he just sat in our room staring out of the window like some sort of zombie and I found it more depressing to be around him than anything. I know it had been hard on him losing Sirius, but he wasn't going through it alone. He had me, but he was only pushing me away.

It all started about two weeks into the break. I wanted to talk to him about our meeting with Lord Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic. While we were there, we not only found that we both had a strong possibility of dying at the hands of our parents' murderer, but we had also lost our godfather Sirius Black. Harry wasn't interested in talking about it then, so I figured that he needed more time to absorb everything that had happened to us. But that wasn't it - he never wanted to talk about it and I needed to. We had to get this behind us and figure out what we were going to do about facing Voldemort. We had nothing - no plan to go through when time came around for us to fulfill the prophecy that we had been given.

"Emily - is that you?"

I nearly jumped a foot when I heard the voice next to me. When I finally got over the initial shock of it, I looked over and saw my cousin standing next to me with a curious look on his face. For a moment I could have sworn that he looked concerned, but I had never seen that look on his face before so I couldn't be sure of it.

"Is there something you need?" I asked shortly.

"I was just wondering where you were..." Dudley murmured. "You've been out for a while now."

I raised an eyebrow at him and wondered if this was some sort of trick he was pulling on me. But then I suddenly thought of something - this was the first time that Dudley had spoken directly to me all summer. He hadn't even bothered to make a small insult on how I was a freak. Was there something wrong with him?

"I've just been sitting out here the whole time," I shrugged. "Have you seen Harry?"

"No, I think he's still in his room," he said as he went to go sit next to me. "Do you mind if I sit here or...?"

"Sure," I said awkwardly.

He sat down and we both went quiet. This felt weird and unnatural. We hated each other - it was almost like Harry having a decent conversation with Snape. It was very rare occasion that I had a conversation with Dudley that didn't end with my head in a bin.

"Is there something that you needed from me?" I asked slowly and without looking at him directly.

"How did you get that scar on your face?" he asked forwardly. "You're always showing up at the house with a new scar on yourself and I've never known why."

It took every ounce of my self control to not have my jaw drop to my feet. How long had he wanted to know about this? Was that why he was always staring strangely at me from across the dinner table? To think that I just thought I had food on my face at the time...

"Oh, I almost forgot it was there," I finally said. "It's a long, unpleasant story really..."

All he did was stare at me expectantly and I suddenly became self-conscious about the scar that was going across my face. It had faded a lot since I had gotten it last, but it was definitely noticeable - now it remained a thin, faded pink cut that stretched from above my right eye and across my chin.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked in surprise.

When he nodded, I looked back at the house and thought about Harry. Maybe this would be good for me - I did want to talk to someone about this and if Harry wouldn't talk, then maybe I could talk to Dudley to get some things off my chest. Wait a second - was I turning to Dudley for support? I couldn't believe that it had come to this.

"Okay, fine," I said. "But I'll give you the shortened version because there's really a lot. So you know about the man that killed our parents?"

"Well...not really," Dudley said honestly. "I mean, I know that he was dead or something...but you said that he came back?"

"Yes," I said, surprised that he had even gathered that much. "Well, he went looking for this record of a prophecy that was made before Harry and I were born - "

"Prophecy?" he asked in confusion. "There are real prophecies?"

"Well...er...yes," I said. "And Voldemort was trying to get to it so he could hear the full thing."

"Why would he want a prophecy about you two?" he asked.

"It involved him as well," I explained. "But he didn't get to hear it because it smashed before he got a hold of it. Anyway - he got mad at us afterwards and sort of...possessed us - "

"Possessed you?" he asked in shock. "How did he - "

"It's dark magic," I said. "I'm not entirely sure how it's done myself, but he was using us against Dumbledore - our headmaster - in attempt to get us to kill us and it didn't work. So he decided to try and rip my body apart before he moved on to Harry."

Dudley's face drained of all color and he looked horror-struck. It dawned on my then that I had said it in a very nonchalant way that made it seem like it was an ever day occurrence. I wasn't entirely sure why I had said it in such a dry manner, but now I began to feel that numb feeling again as memories flashed through my mind.

Seven of us racing into the Ministry of Magic...running throughout the Department of Mysteries in a mad scramble to find my godfather...meeting up with the Death Eaters who wanted to destroy us for their master's sake...seeing Sirius's face as he fell through the veil and out of my world - no.

Suddenly everything shut down and my mind went blank. I wasn't going to do this to myself again. Ever since we had been sent back to this house I had found myself hiding from everyone so I could sob about the things I had seen - especially losing my godfather. The last time I had lost control, I found that I had been doing more harm to myself because of the constant breaking of glass and beating on wood to the point my hands and arms were bleeding. I wouldn't do this to myself anymore - Sirius wouldn't have wanted me to do this and I needed to be healthy enough to make sure Harry would be safe.

"Is this why I hear you two screaming at night?" he asked softly.

All I could do was nod and look at the pavement in front of me. Dudley wasn't going to understand what was going on with us, but I respected him enough to actually care enough to try to help.

"What else happened there?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I heard Harry yelling something," he said while looking at his hands. "Something about that man that you told us about last year...um..."

"Sirius Black?" I suggested.

"Yeah - him," he said.

"One of Voldemort's followers killed him," I said with a hollow voice.

Dudley went silent and I looked down at my feet so I wouldn't have to see his face. I had no idea what was running through my cousin's mind, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to know. I needed to talk about this, but I just wasn't sure how to talk about it with someone that doesn't fully understand what Sirius meant to me.

"I'm sorry," he said in a tone that was barely audible. "I didn't realize that you had lost someone…"

"Yeah," I said softly. "He was our godfather…and now he's gone and I feel like I'm all alone…"

"What about Harry?" Dudley asked. "He was there with you, wasn't he?"

"He won't talk about it," I sighed. "I think that he's afraid to because he doesn't want to remember any of it…I guess it's just his way of getting through it."

"Well…you could always come to me if you need someone," he said sounding genuine.

I looked up at Dudley and I suddenly felt like I was in some sort of alternate universe. Last year it wouldn't have surprised me if he had been planning my murder, but now he was suddenly being civil and I just couldn't seem to get over it. Was it something that he ate or was he actually becoming decent?

"Why are you trying to help me?" I asked quietly.

"Well...maybe it's because - " he started.

We were suddenly silenced when we saw a black town car rolling down the street. When it came into view, we immediately jumped up from where we were sitting. From the driver's side of the car, I could clearly see my uncle glaring at me as he pulled into the parking space in front of 4 Privet Drive. When he stepped out of his car, my eyes flickered over to Dudley who was staring quietly at his father, but the slam of the car door made my eyes quickly dart back over to the enormous man that had stepped out of it.

"What are you doing?" Uncle Vernon asked us both, but stared directly at me.

Neither of us spoke. All I could bring myself to do was narrow my eyes at Dudley's father. We hadn't done anything wrong in my eyes, but the mere fact that I was talking to Dudley seemed to be worse than murder in his eyes.

"Nothing really - now was your day?" Dudley asked simply.

"Horrible - I didn't sell a damn thing at the office," he grunted irritably. "Now get inside - both of you. Now."

Dudley nodded and walked on towards the front door. I followed suit a moment later and attempted to ignore my uncle's existence as I walked past him, but he wouldn't allow that. Just as I stepped towards the door, he grabbed my arm and pulled me backward so I was staring right into his gargantuan face.

"What are you up to girl?" he snarled.

"Nothing at all," I said bluntly.

"Don't lie to me," he spat. "You were speaking to my son - what nonsense did you tell him?"

"Only what he asked from me," I said.

"Why would he want to know anything about you?" he asked in disgust.

"Have you never thought that your son would become curious about his cousins at one point or another?" I asked.

"I don't want you speaking to him," he snarled. "Dudley's mind doesn't need to be corrupted by your abnormal ways."

"By my corrupt ways?" I said with a laugh. "Have you ever looked at yourself and what you've been cramming into your son's head? You've been teaching him from day one to hate anyone who is remotely different than you - "

"Enough!" he shouted. "Go to your room - I don't need to listen to you."

"Because you can't deal with the truth," I said. "You thought that you could corrupt your son to the point that he would be just like you, but something must have gone wrong - it seems like your son is starting to give a damn about other people."

He threw my arm from his grip and walked into the house without another word. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if Dudley's sudden change of heart was a permanent thing, but it was enough to strike a nerve in his father and that was good enough for me. With a smirk on my face from winning this battle, I stepped into the house and closed the door behind me. From where I was standing in the entranceway, I could hear Uncle Vernon yelling about wanting to kick me out of the house to his wife from the kitchen. To be honest, I really didn't care that much that he hated me - I only had a limited amount of summer breaks left to deal with him before I was off on my own anyway.

I walked up the steps and went directly in my room where I found Harry sitting on his bed and staring towards the window with a blank look on his face. With a sigh, I stepped over and sat on my bed without even saying anything to him. It took him a moment to acknowledge my existence, but when he did I just wish that he would stare back at the window. The emptiness in his eyes made me ill and I just didn't want to see him like that anymore.

"Oh, hi..." he murmured absentmindedly.

"Have you been in here all day?" I asked with concern.

"No," he said slowly. "I went to the bathroom earlier..."

"Right," I nodded pathetically.

It was hard to be angry with him when I knew that he was hurting, but at the same time I couldn't shake off the urge to knock some sense into him. He was doing this to himself and there was nothing that I could do about it if he refused to talk about what was on his mind.

"What's Uncle Vernon yelling about?" he asked without even bothering to act interested.

"I was talking to Dudley and it made him mad," I said as I sat back against the wall behind my bed.

"Why we're you talking to him?" he asked irritably.

"He wanted to know how I got the scar," I said indicating the one on my face. "So I told him."

"You told him what exactly?" he asked as he sat up straight and looked me directly in the eyes.

"Just some things that happened at the Ministry," I said.

"Why would you talk to him about that?" he asked.

All I could do was look at him in disbelief. Was he seriously getting angry about this? What did it matter to him anyway - it wasn't like he was willing to do anything, so why should it matter if I went off and told our cousin?

"How is that any of Dudley's business?" he snapped.

"Why do you even care?" I asked angrily. "He was just trying to help me - that's more than you can say!"

"Oh, so now you're defending Dudley over me?" Harry said with his voice getting louder as he spoke. "Suddenly you two are great pals - isn't that wonderful!"

"You know what, I don't have to listen to you," I spat and jumped up from where I was sitting. "I'll leave you to sulk in peace, okay? Talk to me when you decide not to be a complete asshole."

Feeling like my world was collapsing around me, I stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind me. When I got downstairs, I suddenly began to question where it was that I was going. Who could I turn to now that Harry was angry with me? He was normally my safe haven - my life line. What was happening?

When I turned into the sitting room, I found Aunt Petunia setting the phone down in its usual spot and she had a stern look on her bony face.

"What's going on up there?" she asked me. "I heard yelling - where's Dudley?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.

She started to say something else, but I just walked into the kitchen so I wouldn't have to talk to her. She didn't need an explanation - this didn't concern her and I would bet all the money that Harry and I had in Gringotts that she wouldn't care as long as Dudley wasn't the one being yelled at.

When I got into the kitchen, I rolled my eyes when I saw Uncle Vernon reading the paper at the table. Where could you go in this house when you wanted to escape someone? It was already getting dark outside, so I couldn't exactly run off like I usually did. The fear of finding myself in the same predicament as Harry and Dudley with the dementors last year had me behaving a little more cautiously around the neighborhood - and the fact that Voldemort was on the loose kept me confined to the house when the sun went down.

"What do you want girl?" Uncle Vernon asked irritably from behind his newspaper.

"You know, I do have a name," I muttered.

"Don't get a smart mouth with me," he said.

"I'm sorry, I'll try and dumb myself down next time I speak to you," I retorted.

Before he had a chance to answer, I was already walking out of the back door. No one came chasing after me when I walked out into the backyard and took a seat on the bench that sat against the fence at the edge of the yard. When I sat down, all I did was let out a deep sigh as I looked up at the clear sky above me. Was I ever going to be able to escape this madness?

* * *

It wasn't until Friday night that Harry finally decided to say something to me. It had been two full days since I spoke to him last and I refused to be the one that broke the silence because, as far as I was concerned, I hadn't done a single thing wrong. Sure it was slightly immature of me, but I didn't care - the only thing I did was reach out to Dudley when Harry refused to speak.

The sun was starting to go down and I was flipping through some of the school work I was given for the summer break. I had just finished an essay for a very rare species of flowers for Herbology and I silently wished that Neville was here to help me because I was sure that I didn't have the correct temperature for the plant to grow at. Harry was sitting on his bed like usual and was flipping through the Daily Prophet when he suddenly pushed it down after an hour of silence and just looked at me for a minute. When I raised an eyebrow, he finally spoke up.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"Hmmm...I don't know," I said sarcastically. "What do you think?"

"You haven't been talking to me," he said. "Actually, you've been avoiding me for a while now."

"Wait a minute - I haven't been talking to you?" I asked in disbelief. "You've practically been a recluse all summer because you refuse to talk about anything that happened at the Ministry and you just expect me to sit back and be okay with that?"

"Why do we have to talk about it?" he asked as he threw the paper at the ground. "What could we possibly say about what happened that will help either of us?"

"I just wanted to know that you're there for me," I said. "But I feel like I'm going at this by myself - "

"What do you expect me to do?" Harry asked desperately. "Talk about Sirius every day like he's still here and act like I have some grand plan to defeat Voldemort?"

"At least recognize it!" I demanded. "Putting it all off isn't going to make it go away Harry - we need to at least be prepared!"

"And how exactly are we going to prepare for that?" Harry asked. "What could we possibly do to prepare ourselves to take on one of the greatest wizards of all time?"

"You know what, I don't know," I said in defeat. "But we're expected to do something and, end the end, we're going to have to do whatever we can."

"I know…" Harry said. "And so does everyone else…"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Everyone else?"

"Haven't you been reading the newspapers?" Harry asked.

"How do you expect me to do that?" I asked. "You've been keeping them all to yourself."

"Well we're all anyone's talking about," he said. "They're calling us the Chosen Pair."

"But how would they know that?" I asked. "No one else has heard the prophecy, right?"

"They probably just expect us to be the ones because of what happened when we were younger," he shrugged. "Either that or their just looking for someone to help - everyone is going insane with this. I still can't believe that Fudge left - "

"He did what?" I asked in shock.

"Wait, you didn't know that we have a new Minister for Magic?" he asked.

"How did you expect me to find out?" I asked while waving my hands. "I told you - I haven't been reading the papers! Why did he leave?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly his choice," Harry explained. "No one wanted him in office after they found out that Voldemort was back. The people said they couldn't trust him anymore, so now Rufus Scrimgeour stepped up to take his position."

"And how - " I started.

My attention was taken away from my brother and what we had been talking about when I saw that about four lights had suddenly gone out from outside of our window and the entire area seemed to have gone black. Harry jumped up from where he was sitting looking surprised and eager as he walked toward the door. What was going on?

"Er…Harry?" I said.

"I completely forgot that he was coming," he muttered under his breath.

I followed him out of our room and down the hallway towards the entranceway to the house.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked.

There was a gentle, yet profound knock on the front door of the house and I eyed Harry suspiciously as we walked toward the door. Who was waiting for us - obviously not anyone bad if Harry expected them to be coming, but why hadn't he told me that? Oh wait…we weren't talking, I forgot. With a quick turn of the knob after unlocking the deadbolt, I suddenly saw who it was.

"Good evening," Albus Dumbledore said with a smile. "I do hope that I haven't woken you."

My jaw nearly fell open, but my attention was quickly diverted to the three people that were racing down the staircase to see what all the commotion was about. When the Dursleys arrived, all in their nightgowns, their looks of shock nearly matched mine when they caught a glimpse at the old man that was standing at the door.

"You all seem awfully surprised that I'm here tonight," Dumbledore said kindly. "But I do hope that you are kind enough to invite me in."

"Of course, of course," I said as I opened up the door wider and ushered him through. "The sitting room is just over there."

When he began making his way over towards the couches that were sitting vacant in the other room, I grabbed onto Harry's sleeve to stop him in his tracks.

"Why didn't you tell me that Dumbledore was coming?" I asked quickly and quietly.

"I was getting around to it," Harry said sheepishly. "But you weren't talking to me."

"You better be happy that we aren't aloud to use magic right now," I said under my breath.

For the first time in a while I saw an actual smirk on Harry's face, but it was short-lived because we had to deal with the situation at hand. Looking over at my aunt, uncle, and cousin - all with a shocked look on their face - I had to wonder what exactly it was that brought our headmaster to our house. Part of me wondered if Harry knew himself, but judging by the confused look on his face I was going to assume that he didn't really know either.

"Professor, shouldn't we be leaving?" Harry asked.

"Only in a moment's time," Dumbledore said kindly. "I have a few matters to discuss with your aunt and uncle."

"I don't know if it's completely necessary," I said as I looked over at them again. "And where are we going, sir?"

"You'll discover that in due time, Miss Potter," Dumbledore smiled. "In the meantime, I suggest that we all get comfortable."

He motioned for everyone to come over and take a seat in the sitting room. Although all of us were hesitant, we made our way and sat down on the couches that were set up around him.

I had a feeling that this was going to be one of the most uncomfortable meetings of our lives and I didn't even know what it was about.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I'm not entirely sure when I'm going to have the next chapter up because I'm also working on rewriting the previous books that I already have up. I'm guessing that chapter 2 should be up sometime around Tuesday.**

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	2. Dumbledore's Visit

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 2**

It was hard to decide who it was that was more uncomfortable about this arrangement - the Dursleys or Harry and me. Everything about this situation seemed strange because it was like a collision of worlds. It just wasn't natural to have Dumbledore in the same room as the Dursleys.

"I think I'm going to have a drink," Dumbledore said after a moment of silence. "Would anyone else care for one?"

Our aunt and uncle couldn't have looked like they wanted anything less than what our headmaster was offering them. With a shrug of the shoulder and a wave of his wand, Dumbledore conjured a glass for each of the people in the room. They all appeared above our heads and I quickly took the floating glass out of the air and took a drink of it. Harry and Dumbledore did the same, but everyone else's continued to float around their heads.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk to us about?" I asked nervously.

"I'm glad you asked," Dumbledore smiled. "I came here today to discuss your godfather's will - it was discovered recently among his other possessions."

Harry's eyes narrowed and he looked at the ground in pain. Dumbledore didn't even have to say Sirius's name to lose Harry's attention in the conversation. I held back my anger at my brother's silence and tried to keep my attention on Dumbledore who had gone out of his way just to tell us what Sirius had left for us.

"Please continue," I said when he remained silent.

"Sirius essentially left the two of you everything that he had," Dumbledore said simply. "All of the gold that he had has already been transferred into your account at Gringotts - we took care of that."

This was worse than I thought it would be. Just the simple fact that he had given us everything made me want to run off and cry. We were everything to him and it made me feel that much more guilty that we were the ones that led him to the Ministry that night. The haunting image of his shocked face as he fell into the veil flashed through my mind and made me flinch.

"He also left you Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore continued. "This is something that we find very tricky."

"Why is that?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going so I couldn't zone off into misery again.

"The home has always been kept in the Black family," he explained. "It had special enchantments on it to make sure that it stayed within the correct line, but we added our own enchantments as well."

"Which means what exactly?" I asked.

"We aren't entirely sure if the house belongs to the two of you," he said.

"Who else could it belong to?" I asked. "He didn't have any children to leave it to."

"Exactly," he nodded. "Which means that it would go to the next person in line that had the family name."

"And who would that be?" I asked.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," he said.

The room suddenly became quiet and I felt like my insides were being crushed. Even the possibility of that woman getting anything that belonged to Sirius made me ill to the stomach. She had murdered him - she hardly had the right to live in my opinion.

"So how do we know who actually has the house?" I asked.

"There is only one thing that we have thought of," Dumbledore said.

"And that would be...?" I asked, urging him to continue.

"Kreacher," he said.

"What do we need with him?" Harry spat suddenly.

"If he obeys any command that you give him, then you are the rightful owner of him and the house," Dumbledore explained.

"But I don't want him or the damn house," Harry said angrily. "I don't want any of it, all I want is - "

"Complaining about the situation won't bring him back Harry!" I shouted.

Everyone in the room went quiet and it seemed like everything had just stopped moving at once. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and Harry just stared at me with his eyes narrowed.

"Is there something going on here that I should know about?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, Harry is a miserable prick," I said.

"Just because I don't want to talk about this doesn't mean that I - " he started.

"That's just it!" I shouted. "You never want to talk about anything! Do you think that this doesn't hurt me too? You aren't the only one that has to deal with all of this Harry - I am here too, but you just sit there and act like this is only affecting you!"

"Harry, have you not spoken about any of the events that happened last year with your sister?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Why should I?" he asked. "There isn't anything to discuss - we were both there and we know what happened."

"Yes, but this is no way to treat each other," Dumbledore said. "Dealing with problems by sulking in silence always ends badly. It creates an anger between the people involved, and it isn't healthy - especially with people like you two who are so used to speaking with each other about everything. You need to cooperate with each other in this difficult time, do you understand?"

"I understand this perfectly," I said with staring pointedly at my brother. "Harry is the one that has the problem."

"I don't have a problem!" Harry snapped. "You just keep - "

"You were talking about Kreacher, Professor?" I spoke loudly over Harry.

Harry's eyes narrowed and then he turned back to Dumbledore with his arms crossed. He was behaving like a child and I had heard enough of it.

"Well, yes," Dumbledore said while his eyes flickered from one of us to the other.

"We're going to need to see if he obeys our commands," I said.

"Your commands," Harry muttered next to me.

"So if he listens to what we have to say, then we know that the house is in our hands as well," I said while ignoring Harry.

"Correct," Dumbledore nodded. "And I do believe that the sooner that we figure this out, the better it'll be for us all."

"So how about right now?" I asked. "Is there a way to get Kreacher here?"

"Yes, would you both want me to bring him here?" he said while eyeing Harry skeptically.

Harry kept his mouth shut and looked at the ground. When Dumbledore looked at me and I nodded. It wasn't exactly thrilling to me that Kreacher was going to be in our possession after what he had done to Sirius, but there really wasn't much we could do at this point. Maybe if he actually was our house-elf we could make sure that he stayed clear of Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Since Harry didn't protest, Dumbledore took out his wand and with a hesitant flick of the wrist, there was a loud pop. My hands immediately flew up to my ears when the room was filled with a horrible scream from a small creature that just appeared in the sitting room.

"KREACHER DOESN'T BELONG TO THOSE FILTHY HALF-BLOODS!" he shouted and began to beat his fist on the floor.

"What is that thing?" Aunt Petunia shouted through Kreacher's screams.

"A house-elf," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"NO, NO, NO!" Kreacher screamed. "KREACHER BELONGS TO MISS BELLATRIX!"

"Not to push you Miss Potter," Dumbledore spoke up through the yelling. "But now would be an excellent time to give an order."

I looked back over to the house-elf and cringed. To be honest, I didn't really know what it was that I was going to tell him. I've never had an house-elf before. So I said the only thing that I wanted him to do.

"Just STOP SCREAMING!" I shouted suddenly.

Kreacher immediately clutched onto his throat and began to choke himself. My eyes went wide when he fell to the floor and began to strain for breath. When I looked around at the others in a sort of panic I noticed that all of the Dursleys seemed to have gone in shock while Dumbledore stared over at Kreacher curiously. Harry, on the other hand, still seemed angry and was giving me a piercing stare that practically screamed out that he was blaming me for even having Kreacher here in the first place.

When Kreacher began to roll around on the ground with choked screams and tears flying, I realized that he wasn't going to stop unless someone told him to.

"Kreacher - stop doing that," I ordered.

Instantly he stopped choking himself and just laid on the ground in defeat. Dumbledore seemed to take this act as a success, so he turned his attention back to us and looked very pleased despite the scene that we had just witnessed.

"So I guess that's it - we know that Kreacher doesn't belong to Miss Lestrange," Dumbledore said.

Kreacher let out a noise sounding like he was going to protest, but I shot him a look and he closed his mouth immediately. This power over him seemed strange...I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

"What do you wish to do with him?" Dumbledore asked us.

"I don't want him," Harry said quickly. "Emily can have him."

"Would you get these bloody things away from us!" Uncle Vernon shouted suddenly.

I nearly jumped out of my seat when he spoke because I nearly forgot that they were a part of this conversation. When I looked over at them, I raised an eyebrow because the glasses that were floating around their heads had taken to jumping on top of their heads with the contents flying all around them.

With swish of his wand, Dumbledore made the glasses vanish and had an apologetic look on his face. Although looking irritated with what had happened, I felt like the Dursleys' attention had been taken from the glasses to the wand in our headmaster's hand in an instant. Fear flew through their faces when they saw it, and I couldn't help but be slightly amused by their reactions.

"So you were saying that you wish to give all rights to Kreacher over to Emily?" Dumbledore continued.

"Yes, I don't want any part of that thing," Harry said with a disgusted look on his face. "Emily can have the murdering traitor."

"Harry, you shouldn't take out your anger on a house-elf," Dumbledore said. "It wasn't completely his fault. As I have told you before, he was only acting in that way because of the way that Sirius treated him - "

"I don't want to hear it," Harry said bluntly.

Dumbledore let out a sigh and then turned back to me with his eyes flickering over to Kreacher who had taken to mumbling to himself again. Knowing that he was going to ask me what I wanted to do with him, I decided to go ahead and tell him the first thing that came to my mind.

"Can't he go stay at Hogwarts?" I asked thinking of Dobby. "Maybe he could find some work there with the other house-elves."

"That's an excellent idea," Dumbledore smiled. "The other house-elves can keep an eye on him there, but I do believe that it is you that will have to give him the order."

I looked over at Kreacher who was staring at me with the utmost loathing. Even though I hated him for what he had done the previous year, I had to understand what Dumbledore had said about him. It was only natural for him to take up sides with those who seemed to care for him...even though those people cared about nothing except the destruction of the world in my opinion.

"Kreacher, I want you to go work with the other house-elves at Hogwarts," I said to him. "Stay with them and don't get into any trouble."

Without even a word of complaint, he vanished from the room. Part of me wondered if he didn't put up a protest simply because he didn't want to be in our presence anymore, but I didn't really care.

"Is that all?" Harry asked.

"Do you have all of your things packed?" Dumbledore asked us.

"Yes," Harry answered.

"I would have if I knew that you were coming," I said while throwing a look at Harry.

"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "I was just going to say that I wanted to have a word with Harry in private. Go on and pack your bags Emily - we will be down here when you are finished."

Feeling awkward that I was the only one leaving the room, I quickly moved from my chair and walked up the stairs as fast as I could. It wasn't until I reached the top step of the stairs that I heard a conversation begin down in the sitting room.

"Is there something bothering you, Harry?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

Not wanting to hear more at the moment, I walked into my room and closed the door behind me. It only took me moments to find my suitcase buried underneath of my bed. I quickly threw it up on top of my bed and started to scramble to gather all of my things.

Although I didn't really want to know what was being talked about downstairs, the nosy side of me wondered how much he was actually going to discuss with Dumbledore with the Dursleys sitting right beside them. He might go as far as saying that he is irritated with my constant attempts at trying to get him to speak, but I seriously doubted that he would go into any sort of detail unless Dumbledore really pried it out of him.

To be honest, I wasn't even sure if it bothered me that much that he didn't want to talk about Sirius - I wasn't too fond about talking about his death either. It was mostly that he didn't want to acknowledge what happened and move on. But the fact of the matter was that he didn't want to talk to me at all about anything. Ever since I had brought up the prophecy to him in the beginning of the summer he completely shut down and I couldn't get him to talk about anything. Even when I brought up things that he enjoyed like Quidditch he would quickly find a way to end the conversation and go back into his zombie-like state of hating the world.

When I sent letters off to Ron and Hermione, they had even said that they had noticed his lack of interest when they read letters that he sent to them. Harry had become a hallow shell of who he was because he had cut off all ties with everyone. He just wanted to be alone, but I was having trouble dealing with that. All our lives we had always been there for each other and now he was leaving me in the dark. I just wanted my brother back, was that so wrong of me?

I tossed in the last bit of parchment that I had lying around and tied my luggage up. When I did a check of the room, I saw that the only thing that needed to be taken out of the room were the things that Harry packed along with Hedwig and Hoot. I let out a sigh when I saw there were still some things that my brother didn't pack and I rushed over and stuffed every book and piece of clothing that I saw of his inside of the luggage before closing it up.

That was it - all of it was packed and ready to go. Although I was told where we were going, I had a feeling that it was going to be the Burrow because that was the only place I could imagine Dumbledore would take us. But why wouldn't he have the Weasleys come over and get us themselves if that were the case? George was constantly saying how he was going to come over and steal me away from here like he did before our second year of Hogwarts, but I hardly thought that would be necessary. Even though I would much rather spend my time with George, I always feared that we would be putting them in danger by just being in the same house as him. Maybe it was just paranoia, but I felt like being around me was dangerous now that Voldemort was out and dangerous.

I did one last look around the room to make sure I didn't miss anything before I walked over to Hoot's cage and opened up the latch. I gave Hedwig and him the final two treats in the bag and then quickly smooted their ruffled feathers before opening up the window.

"Go on to the Burrow," I told them. "We should be there later, but I'm sure that the Weasleys will take care of you if we don't show up."

Their beady eyes stared up at me and then, one at a time, they flew out the window and into the sky. I wondered how much they actually understood from what I had said, but they had never gone the wrong way before now. I closed the window after a moment and then grabbed one of the owl's cages and my luggage as I walked toward the door - Harry was going to have to come up here to get his own stuff.

When I started coming down the stairs I heard someone talking, but the chatter immediately came to a halt when the stair creaked underneath of my foot. From what I could tell, the conversation that just ended downstairs had been a serious and unpleasant one judging from the tone of what I heard.

Not seeing any point of delaying myself any longer, I quickly made my way down the stairs and looked over to the sitting room where all five of its occupants were staring at me. I coughed uncomfortably as I set my things at the door and then looked back at their staring eyes.

"Do you have everything?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.

"I believe so," I said while looking down at my things. "Harry's luggage is the only thing left in the room."

My eyes flickered over to Harry who was looking more uncomfortable than I had seen him in a while. What did Dumbledore say to him? Part of me wanted to ask right there what they had needed to talk about in private, but Dumbledore would definitely put an end to it if I even started to ask.

Harry stepped out of his chair and walked past me without even acknowledging that I was there. I wanted to hit him in the head to show my aggravation, but I hardly thought that it would be proper to do while Dumbledore was watching us both so intently.

We all waited in an awkward silence as Harry hurried toward our room to pick up his things. I silently thanked myself for packing the remainder of his things because that only meant that it would take him a couple seconds to grab onto it so we could get out of this awful situation. Just having the Dursleys frightened and judgmental looks was enough to make me want to run from the house.

When Harry came walking down the door with his things, I let out a sigh of relief and I could have sworn that the Dursleys did as well. I'm sure that they were looking forward to the end of this meeting as much as we were. But why were they even included? How did any of this concern them?

"Are we ready to leave?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

"In a moment," Dumbledore said as he finally turned his full attention to the Dursleys. "Just one more thing before we depart."

Uncle Vernon's face went red, Aunt Petunia coward in her seat, and Dudley's eyes widened. It was as if Dumbledore had threatened their lives by just looking at them directly. If it wasn't so awkward, I probably would have found this a lot more amusing.

"As I'm sure you know, Harry and Emily will be of age next year," Dumbledore said.

"No they won't," Aunt Petunia said quickly.

"They turn seventeen next July," Uncle Vernon said. "Not eighteen."

I nearly had to recoil in shock when I heard that. It was surprising to me that they had even managed to remember what our age would be in a years time. Although I was sure that it had to due with the fact that Dudley was only a month older than us, I still found myself a little bit impressed that they had kept track of the month we were born after all of these years of ignoring us completely.

"Witches and wizards become of age when they are seventeen years old," Dumbledore explained.

Both of them went silence once more and sat back in their chairs so that they could continue to listen to our headmaster, something that I hardly thought they were capable of.

"When Harry and Emily turn seventeen years old, the protection that Lily Potter gave them will wear off completely," Dumbledore continued. "But until that time, I ask that you allow them both to return for one final summer before they are sent out on their own - that will ensure that they remain protected until the moment that they turn seventeen, is this understood?"

Much to my shock, it was not my aunt nor my uncle that decided to speak up. It was Dudley.

"What protection?" Dudley asked hesitantly.

It was hard to say which person in the room looked more shocked that Dudley asked a question about us. Even Dudley himself looked surprised that he asked it. What was with this new found interest in us? Years ago he would have only acknowledged the detail about never having to see us again after next summer - and that's if we made it that far.

"The protection that their mother gave them when Lord Voldemort tried to kill them," Dumbledore explained after a moments hesitation. "Since your mother was her sister, this powerful magic runs through her veins as well. Emily and Harry remain under that protection as long as they consider this house their home. Although none of you have ever made them feel welcome and have consistently neglected the two of them, you have managed to keep them alive which seems to have worked out well enough."

Although Dumbledore had found his way to insult our aunt and uncle by answering their son's question, neither of them seemed fazed in the slightest. At least they didn't have the nerve to claim that they had been good to us throughout the years - that probably would have sent me over the edge. Dudley, on the other hand, had a flash of shame across his face. Did he finally feel guilty for all the years of torment that he put us through? It was all so confusing - this wasn't the Dudley that I was used to.

"Unless there are any other questions, I do believe that it is time for us to be on our way," Dumbledore said as he looked around at the family.

When no one spoke up, he stood up from his chair and motioned for us to retrieve our things from the door. Once I had everything in hand, I looked back over to the sitting room where Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at the floor as though they were trying to ignore us completely. Would they ever get over themselves?

"Have a good evening," Dumbledore waved to them.

He walked over toward the door and turned the knob to open it. He first motioned for Harry to walk out and he did so with only an awkward smile as a farewell to the Dursleys. Normally, I would have felt that they hardly deserved a goodbye at all, but something about the curiosity and confusion in my cousin's eyes made me linger at the front door for a moment longer.

"I'll see you next summer," I said to them.

Dudley looked up at me and gave me a weak smile.

"Have a good year," Dudley said quietly.

When he spoke up, both of his parents' heads shot up and looked at him in shock. I smiled at their reactions and gave a quick wave to them all before stepping out of the door. I wasn't sure if this kind Dudley was a random, temporary thing, but I might as well take advantage of it while I could. Although it's taken me this long to admit it, the Dursleys have kept me alive this long and I should at least be happy enough with that. After all, I could have died just like everyone else at the hand of Voldemort.

Dumbledore closed the door behind him and together we all walked away from the house. I took one final look back at it and, for the first time in my memory, I hoped that it wouldn't be the last time that I saw 4 Privet Drive.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I wanted to apologize for having this chapter up a lot later than I said it would be. I was very sick with a stomach virus and I couldn't write anything, just in case any of you are wondering. But I am better now and I plan on continuing to write this story and rewrite the previous ones as well. The next chapter should be up around Thursday!**

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	3. An Old Colleague

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 3**

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"You will discover that in just a moment," Dumbledore said.

He stopped us at the end of the driveway and pulled out his wand from his robes again. With a quick swish of the wrist, the bags that Harry and I were carrying vanished from our hands. Although it lightened my load significantly, my answer still hadn't been answered and I still had no idea what was going on. Judging by the slightly confused expression on Harry's face, he didn't know what was going on either.

"Now, you two haven't passes your Apparition tests, correct?" Dumbledore asked.

"No..." I said while looking at him skeptically.

"That's what I thought," Dumbledore nodded. "So we're going to have to do Side-Along Apparition."

"What exactly does that mean?" Harry asked.

"Just hold on to my arm," Dumbledore said. "And I do ask that you are gentle with my right arm Harry - it isn't doing that well.

Since I didn't understand what he was talking about, my eyes immediately darted toward Dumbledore's right arm and hand to see what it was he was referring to. My eyes widened when I saw that my headmaster's hand was blackened and looking like it had just been pulled out of an awful fire.

"Professor - what happened?" I asked in disbelief. "What did you do to your hand?"

"That is a story that is meant for another day," he said quickly. "We have other business to attend to, and I'm afraid that the tale will take far too much time away from us."

He held out each of his arms toward us both with a smile on his face. I gripped onto his left while Harry did the same with his right.

"I suggest holding on very well," Dumbledore said. "We wouldn't want to have any complications. Since this is your first time, I do believe that I should warn you that you may feel a slight discomfort."

Fear suddenly flew through me. George told me that he had just passed his Apparition test with Fred and he went into great detail about what the feeling was like. Although he said it is very useful to use, it was highly uncomfortable when he first began learning to do it. This only made me feel worse about the whole situation.

"Okay, ready?" Dumbledore asked and looked from one of us to the other.

"Sure," Harry murmured.

Dumbledore nodded and then there was a loud pop noise that erupted in my ear. All at once I felt my body feel like I was inside of a large box that was quickly shrinking outside of me. I closed my eyes tightly and I probably would have screamed out in agony if the pressure around me hadn't been crushing my lungs to the point that I was not able to use them. Just when I thought my entire body was going to collapse around me, everything suddenly went back to normal as if it had never happened.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself looking around at a small village. From the looks of it, the town was completely vacant and looked like it had been deserted a long time ago. Maybe it was because it was dark, but something about this area gave me a bad feeling that made me want to run away from it.

"Miss Potter, there is nothing to fear," Dumbledore said. "I do believe that we are the only ones here."

It was then that I realized how tightly I was gripping onto Dumbledore's arm. I let go of him quickly and gave him an apologetic look before I grabbed onto my wand again. We all held our wands at the ready as we began walking through the square.

"So why are we here?" Harry asked.

"We're meeting with an old colleague of mine," Dumbledore answered.

"And we're here to see the lovely neighborhood?" I asked sarcastically as I saw another abandon and broken house.

"As you know, we are once again one staff member short," Dumbledore said. "So I was hoping that you all could help...persuade an old friend of mine to rejoin us at Hogwarts."

"How exactly are we supposed to help?" Harry asked.

"Well, let's just say that this man happens to big a fan of valuable possessions," Dumbledore said cautiously. "And that includes people such as the two of you."

"So you're hoping that this man will come teach at Hogwarts if he is aware that we will be two of his students?" I asked. "Isn't that a bit wrong of us to do?"

"I just think that it'll give him the push that he needs," Dumbledore said. "He is a very intelligent man and was a very good teacher in his day. My only hope is that he is willing to return again."

"But why do we need to persuade him?" Harry asked. "Why isn't he willing to come back on his own if he was such a great teacher?"

"I'm afraid that times have changed," Dumbledore explained looking grim. "That and I do believe that he has found great comfort in his retirement."

When we turned another corner, we all became silent once more. We reached a gate where we stopped and I felt my ice run cold when I saw a large, stone house. Anyone with sight could see that this house had been ransacked - and recently at that. Harry gave me a skeptical look as Dumbledore pushed through the gate and I found myself slowly inching over so I was standing next to my brother and behind Dumbledore.

When we made it to the front door, Dumbledore hesitantly pushed it open and had his wand pointed directly ahead of him as his eyes darted all around before he motioned for us to walk into the house.

"Something's happened here," Dumbledore said quietly as his wand lit up the darkness around us.

When we stepped into the house, I immediately understood where Dumbledore's thoughts were coming from. The first thing that I noticed was a particularly large grandfather clock that was shattered to pieces. When I lit my wand up and looked further into the room, it was easily seen that there had been some sort of attack. Couches were shredded, paintings were torn, furniture was thrown all around, and there was blood dripping from the ceiling.

"We shouldn't be in here professor," I said quietly.

"All is not as it seems, Miss Potter," Dumbledore said as he walked into what appeared to have been a sitting room.

"What are you saying?" Harry asked.

"I do believe that we are not alone at the moment," he answered.

Dumbledore walked slowly toward a large, blue armchair sitting in the middle of the room. After one final curious look, Dumbledore suddenly jabbed his wand directly into the arm of the chair. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a loud yelp erupt from the piece of furniture that Dumbledore just poked.

"Well, there is no need for that!"

Suddenly, before my very eyes, a large man in blue pajamas sat before me where the armchair was sitting just moments ago. When he stood up, once I recoiled from the shock of the entire situation, I noticed that he had a particularly large mustache on his face. He also reminded me of a walrus that I once saw on the television, but I felt rude enough noticing that, so I just stared at him as though he were some kind of alien.

"How did you know that I was here?" the man asked.

"There was no way that this place could have been attacked by Death Eaters, Horace," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Wouldn't you think that people would have noticed that there wasn't a Dark Mark above the house?"

This thought never occurred to me before, but I suppose that I should have noticed. Then again, I believe that I might have been more focused on the complete disarray that the house was in, not to mention the completely vacant town that it belonged to.

"Well, I suppose that you aren't here as a threat to me," the man said. "Would you mind helping me to fix the place up?"

"Not at all," Dumbledore said.

Both of them pulled their wands out again, and with a flick of the wrist, everything in the house zoomed back into place. I stepped out of the way a few times as furniture flew past me and I had to duck once to make sure I didn't get hit on the head by a picture that came off of the ground. Once everything was back to normal and the two older men looked satisfied with their work, they set their wands back in their robes and turned to one another.

"Very nice house you've picked here," Dumbledore said. "Assuming of course that it isn't yours."

"No, you must have known that I've been moving around a lot," the man said. "I have been avoiding the Death Eaters - afraid they'll come after me like everyone else. I believed that the best way to do it was by going around to different Muggle homes that aren't being used."

Dumbledore nodded and looked around the house in admiration. It was a beautiful home, but there was something that was bothering me that I saw when I first came into the house.

"That blood that was on the walls wasn't real, was it?" I asked suddenly.

The man turned to me and raised an eyebrow. There was a crease in his eyes as though he was trying to decide who I was, but he didn't seem to catch on quickly.

"Er...no," he said hesitantly. "It was dragon's blood - very expensive stuff."

Dumbledore gave Harry and me a smile and walked over to usher us into better lighting before he decided to introduce us. Once we were there, I noticed a sudden realization in the man's eyes as Dumbledore began to speak.

"I would like to introduce you both to an old friend of mine," Dumbledore said. "This is Horace Slughorn. Horace - this is Harry and Emily Potter, students of mine at Hogwarts."

"Merlin's beard - these are the Potter twins!" Slughorn said with a smile as he looked from one of us to the other.

"Pleased to meet you," Harry said with an awkward smile.

"By god, you two look just like your parents," he said in amazement. "I taught both of them, you know? They were excellent students - very intelligent! I was so devastated when I got the news of their deaths - such good people..."

"I've heard," Harry said bluntly.

"Lily Evans was one of my favorites," he continued happily. "She was the best in her class, that girl was! How are you two doing in school?"

"We're both doing fine," Harry said. "We aren't anything like our friend Hermione Granger, but we do really well. Emily here is the best in our potions class, did you know?"

He smirked over at me and I had to stifle a laugh. I knew that he was just trying to get any sort of subject that this man had to speak about away from himself so be wouldn't have to deal with him.

"Are you now?" he said with a giant smile. "Like mother, like daughter you are! She could brew up any potion you asked her to - completely brilliant! I suppose that runs in the family!"

"I don't think it does," Harry said under his breath. "Just ask Snape."

"Severus Snape?" Slughorn asked. "He is the Potions Master there now I suppose. I remember teaching him as well - very intelligent student, but a bit curious if you ask me...always sneaking around in the hallways by himself...pitied him a bit, I did."

We all stood there in silence for a moment without knowing what we should say to him. Through it all, I tried to picture a young Snape hard at work at Hogwarts and I found myself smirking at the image. It was kind of funny to see him in our shoes as students and I would have to ask him what this man was like in his days as a professor at Hogwarts. After all, Snape did say that his favorite subject was Defense Against the Dark Arts and this man must have been the professor while he was there, at least that was what I was assuming.

"It's been a long journey," Dumbledore said suddenly. "Would you mind if I used your bathroom?"

"Go right ahead," Slughorn said and pointed one of his fingers towards another room. "It's down the hall - just over there."

Dumbledore smiled and walked quickly and quietly down the hallway. We were all silent until he finally disappeared behind the bathroom door. It was then that Slughorn looked over toward us with an annoyed expression on his face.

"I know what he's trying to do," Slughorn said irritably. "He's trying to get me to come out of retirement - I won't do it! I've told him time and time again that I don't wish to leave the comfort of my home."

"Not to be rude, but you haven't exactly been staying in your home, have you?" Harry asked.

Slughorn narrowed his eyes for a minute and then shook his head. He couldn't deny that Harry was right because he had mentioned only moments after we arrived that he was on the move ever since Voldemort's return. He was just as paranoid as anyone else in this world.

"No one is forcing you to return," I said gently. "But we are in need of a professor and I've only heard wonderful things about you. It would be nice to have a good teacher at the school after all the ones that we've been through over the years."

Slughorn went red in the face and looked away from me at once. I wanted to curse under my breath - since when was I one to brown-nose a person to get what I wanted? Well, this was for Dumbledore after all, and I knew that this man must be of great importance if he had gone through all of this trouble to get to him.

"You've heard about our last professor, haven't you?" Harry asked. "Dolores Umbridge?"

"Oh yes," he said as he found a seat behind himself. "Never really much of a fan of her myself. Seemed a bit rude - at least that's what I thought of her."

"I think we would have to agree with you on that one," I smiled. "She didn't care for us either. I'm sure that had to do with us opposing the Ministry of course."

"I'm sure of it," he nodded. "The woman would stand up for anything the Ministry tells her to. I'm sure she didn't even want that job at Hogwarts - she only took it because Fudge wanted her to watch over you all."

"Well, she's definitely not coming back there," Harry said. "Especially after what happened to her."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"She was carried off by some centaurs in the Forbidden Forest," I explained. "They weren't great fans on what she had to say about their 'near-human intelligence.'"

"She was asking for it then, wasn't she?" Slughorn chuckled.

"She definitely deserved what she got," Harry said. "Maybe now she'll think twice before she talks down to people...or centaurs."

"Either way, we still are one teacher short," I said trying to bring us back to the original conversation. "And I think that we need one that knows what they're doing."

Slughorn shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He didn't want to talk about this anymore, but I knew that it was what Dumbledore came here for in the first place and I couldn't just ignore that.

"You're as bad as Dumbledore, you know that?" he said quietly. "I don't want to go back to that school - especially at times like this. It's far too dangerous..."

"Not with Dumbledore it isn't," Harry said. "You would be safer there than you would be running from house to house."

"I don't know..." Slughorn mumbled.

"We would appreciate it very much," I said. "And wouldn't you like to come out of hiding? It must be incredibly exhausting."

A frown went across his face and I could tell that we were getting to him through our persuasion. Maybe it was a good idea for us to do this. Sure, I felt like it was wrong, but I couldn't see him giving in at all if Dumbledore did the same thing to him.

"Was it awful teaching at Hogwarts before?" Harry asked.

"Well...no," Slughorn said.

"And I'm sure that you would be welcomed back into the school as an old friend," I said. "I'm sure that the staff would be happy to see a familiar face after all the change that's gone on for the past few years."

Slughorn went silent once more and looked as though he was having an internal debate with himself. We were both pushing the subject further than needed, but maybe that's what this man needed. I just hoped that this was really something that Dumbledore wanted.

We all jumped when a door flew open from down the hall. It was Dumbledore and he was walking slowly down the hall giving us all a curious look like he was wondering what it was we could be talking about.

"Okay, are the two of you ready?" Dumbledore asked.

"W-what?" Slughorn stammered as he stood up. "You're going?"

"There isn't much point in sticking around, is there?" Dumbledore asked. "You know what I'm here to ask and I can already tell what your answer is going to be."

"It was nice meeting you," Harry smiled at Slughorn.

"It's a shame that you couldn't help us," I said with an exaggerated sigh. "But I do wish you the best of luck with your travels."

Slughorn looked as though he was going to collapse on the ground in shock and confusion. We were all making this hard on him and we knew it too. The only thing we could do now was walk away and hope that he would stop us before the door closed behind our backs.

"Goodbye Horace," Dumbledore waved. "Come on you two, we need not intrude on this man's time any longer."

We all waved to him as we walked towards the door. As soon as Dumbledore's hand grabbed onto the doorknob, I saw a smirk go across his face when Slughorn spoke from behind us.

"Fine - I'll do it," he said. "But I expect a pay raise, Albus."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore said. "I shall see you on the first of September."

With one last distraught look from Horace Slughorn, we all found ourselves walking past his doorstep and out of the gate that led to the town square. I had to take a moment to think about what just happened before I looked up at my headmaster.

"You two did a brilliant job in there," Dumbledore said proudly. "Though I think you could have skipped over the minor detail about what happened to our previous employee."

"Wait, what did we do that was so brilliant?" Harry asked.

"You two persuaded him to rejoin the Hogwarts staff," Dumbledore said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"All we did was try to make him feel as uncomfortable as we possibly could," I said.

"Which was effective in the end," Dumbledore said.

"I'm not sure if I like this man too much," Harry said. "He's a bit odd..."

"Everyone is a bit odd if we catch them at the right moment," Dumbledore said.

"He really cared for our mother, didn't he?" I asked.

"He spoke very highly of your mother during her time at Hogwarts," he said. "I do recall him saying that she would be a model student if it wasn't for her being a Gryffindor."

Both Harry and I eyed Dumbledore with a curious look.

"What house was he in?" Harry asked.

"He was Head of Slytherin house during his time," Dumbledore explained.

"Oh," Harry said shortly.

"Don't let that define him for you Harry," Dumbledore said. "He has a lot of knowledge to offer you as a professor."

"Being a Slytherin doesn't always mean you're a prick," I said.

"Yes it does," Harry mumbled.

We walked a ways before we came to the spot that we originally appeared in this small, unknown town. Dumbledore smiled and held out his arms for us to grab once again with an apologetic and knowing smile.

"Apparition shouldn't be as bad the second time around," Dumbledore said.

"Might as well get it over with," Harry sighed.

We both grabbed onto his arms and I closed my eyes in preparation for what I knew was going to be horrible. As soon as I began to wonder if it was ever going to come, my body suddenly began to feel like it was being pushed into a box that I clearly couldn't fit in to. Even though I recognized this feeling of being crushed, I still couldn't wait for it to go away.

Then there was a loud POP and I suddenly found myself able to breathe again. When I looked around, I found myself in an empty clearing with only one thing in sight from where I stood - it was the Burrow, the only place other than Hogwarts that I could consider myself at home.

"A couple more things before you run off to join your friends," Dumbledore said as he looked from Harry to me. "I am very proud that you two have been able to find your own ways to handle what happened at the Ministry this past year, but I only ask you one thing: please do not let it come between you. You both need each other at a time like this, especially with what the prophecy said about what your future holds - don't stray from each other."

We both nodded and Harry gave me a sort of awkward look. Maybe it was supposed to be apologetic, or maybe it meant that he wasn't so sure if he could fulfill Dumbledore's wishes with that - I just couldn't tell anymore. The depressing mask that my brother wore made it impossible to tell what he was thinking right now.

"Furthermore, I would like to tell you that you will be receiving lessons from me this upcoming year," he continued.

"From you?" Harry asked in surprise.

"What about the ones that we got from Snape?" I asked.

"I decided that it was best if you did not continue those," Dumbledore said. "Emily, I am aware that you are on good terms with your potions professor, but I cannot say the same about your brother - I believe that it is best that we allow Professor Snape to continue his usual duties at Hogwarts..."

Something about the way his eyes left ours when he said that last bit got me curious. There was something that he wasn't telling us, that was no secret at all judging by his expression.

"But what if we wish to continue those lessons with him?" I asked slowly.

"If he wishes to continue with either of you, I suppose that you could continue," Dumbledore said. "But you must know that Professor Snape is a busy man, especially at times like this."

I nodded and Harry gave me a quizzing look. Dumbledore looked from one of us to the other and then gave us both a smile.

"Now, I do believe that you both wish to join the Weasleys now," Dumbledore said on a happier note. "I do believe that I received several anxious letters from a Mister George Weasley regarding the time of your arrival..."

A smile went across my face when Dumbledore's eyes flickered over to me. Without another word, we quickly made our way across the field towards the Burrow where I could finally find myself at peace.

...

**Thanks for reading - sorry that this is up so late, I meant to get it up earlier. There was a lot of things going on at home that I had to attend to and I hope that you can all understand! The next chapter should be up sometime between Friday and Saturday! **

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	4. Back at the Burrow

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 4**

It took a minute to reach the door of the Burrow, but when we did Dumbledore knocked on the door immediately and I suddenly became anxious to see the Weasleys again. I heard walking on the other side of the door and a sudden stop.

"Hello?" a woman's voice asked.

"It is Albus, Molly," Dumbledore said. "I am here to escort Harry and Emily to your home."

"Oh, of course!" Mrs. Weasley said happily from the other side of the door as she pried it open. "Come on in!"

We all stepped into the house one by one and I was surprised to only see one other person in the room that I hadn't heard: Tonks. Something about her seemed off - she didn't look cheerful and full of laughter like she usually did and it concerned me greatly. Was it the loss of her cousin or could it be something completely different.

"Hey Tonks," Harry waved when he saw her.

"How are the two of you?" she asked with a strained smile on her face.

"I've had better days," Harry shrugged.

"What about you?" I asked. "Is something bothering you?"

She shook her head and looked down at the floor for a minute to avoid our gaze. After a second or so of silence, she suddenly turned to Mrs. Weasley and gave her one of those strained smiles.

"I thank you for allowing me to come by," she said softly and then turned to us. "I'm sorry that I can't stay to see you all, but I need to be going."

She gave us all a quick hug and waved before she all but ran out of the door. We all watched her in silence as she walked away from us and suddenly vanished where Dumbledore, Harry, and I had appeared only moments ago.

"What's wrong with Tonks?" I asked with concern.

"She's just…going through a rough time," Mrs. Weasley said hesitantly. "I'm sure she'll be back to herself in no time."

Even though Mrs. Weasley seemed very sure of herself by her tone, there was something in her expression that told me she was having serious doubts. What was it that was doing this to Tonks? I would have to write to her later to see if I could get a response from here, but I wasn't too sure if I would actually get one. Judging by her quick exit, I hardly believed that she wanted to talk to anyone at the moment.

"Did everything go okay with you all tonight?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Everything went just as planned," Dumbledore smiled. "These two did just what I wanted them to do and now my search for a new staff member is finished."

"Excellent!" Mrs. Weasley said. "I just hope that this will be the last time for a while that it is necessary."

"I think that we all are hoping for that, Molly," Dumbledore said respectfully. "Now, I'm sorry to say that I must make this a short visit because I have some business that I need to attend to."

"Of course, of course," Mrs. Weasley said. "Have a good night and keep yourself safe."

"And to you the same," Dumbledore said with a bow. "Good night to you all and I shall see you later."

Dumbledore waved to us all before opening up the door behind him and walking out of it just as Tonks had done only a few minutes ago. Once Mrs. Weasley closed the door behind him, I noticed that something of ours was in the room - our luggage must have been sent over here when Dumbledore picked us up.

"I have Fred and George's room made up for you both," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Oh, are they not here?" I asked sounding more disappointed than I intended to.

"They've been staying in Diagon Alley," Mrs. Weasley said. "Hasn't George told you?"

"He left out that detail..." I murmured.

"Don't take it personally," Mrs. Weasley said. "They've been very busy with their business and hardly had time for anything. I swear that George has asked me when you were coming here every time I've seen him."

"Really?" I asked without being able to hide my smile.

"He does," Mrs. Weasley smiled. "They should be coming by tomorrow - well, I suppose that it's today now."

"How's their business going?" Harry asked with a yawn.

"Really well," Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Every time we go there to visit them the place is packed. We spend most of our time waiting around for the shop to close to be honest."

"I'm sure things will calm down once all of the kids are at Hogwarts," Harry said.

"Maybe," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "But they always try to make time to see the family - they're really good boys, you know that?"

There was a sudden look of pride that shot across her face that made me smile to myself. This is what they had wanted from their parents: acceptance. All while they were thinking of making the shop, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were always going on about how worried they were that their sons wouldn't be successful in their business, but look at them now.

"You two need to get to bed," she said suddenly. "I'm sure that you'll have a big day tomorrow and you need all the rest you can get."

"Thank you for all of this Mrs. Weasley," I said while looking towards the stairs leading up to where we would be sleeping. "It means a lot."

"It's no bother," she smiled. "There will always be room for both of you in this house."

We both took turns giving her a hug before we grabbed our bags and walked up the stairs to get ready for bed. It wasn't until we both laid down in our beds when I realized that I was completely exhausted. I reached over toward the lamp that sat next to me.

"Goodnight Harry," I said quietly.

"See you in the morning," he yawned in the bunk bed that sat above me.

Only seconds after I turned out the light, I found myself being engulfed in a peaceful darkness that I wanted so badly.

...

"Emily - Emily, wake up!"

I quickly sat up from my bed with my heart racing a mile a minute. I immediately started throwing my hands around in a mad scramble to find where my wand was for some sort of protection. Where was I - where was my wand - ?

"Emily, you're fine!" a familiar voice said.

It took me a moment to remember that I was in Fred and George's room at the Burrow. When I looked around, I found that there were three people looking at me with huge smiles on their faces.

"Having bad dreams, are we?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I just forgot where I was," I shook my head and tried to focus.

"When did you two get here - Harry, wake up!" Ginny said as she threw a nearby sock at the bed above me.

"Ow!" Harry grumbled.

I heard creaking from above me where Harry was shifting his weight around the old bed he chose to sleep in. Once we both sat up, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny began to attack us with questions.

"Is it true that Dumbledore dropped you off here?" Hermione asked. "I thought I heard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley saying something about it."

"Yes, it's true," Harry yawned as he stepped down from the upper bunk. "Can someone hand me my glasses?"

Ron took the round glasses off of the bedside table and put them in Harry's hand. As soon as he was able to see again, he quickly found a spot to sit at the end of my bed.

"What did he want?" Ginny asked. "Mum and Dad wouldn't tell us."

"That's odd," I said. "We were only helping Dumbledore find a new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Who is it going to be?" Hermione asked looking eager to know.

"Horace Slughorn," Harry told them. "He was a professor at Hogwarts a long time ago - Dumbledore thought it would be a good idea to get him out of retirement so he could teach again."

"Is there anything wrong with him?" Ron asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a small laugh.

"He's saying that every other professor that's taught that class has had something wrong with them," Ginny explained for her brother. "Did you notice anything strange about him - he isn't a vampire or anything, is he?"

"No, he's not a vampire," I laughed. "But he seems a bit strange if you ask me."

"And he's a Slytherin," Harry said in disgust. "Dumbledore told us after we left - I should have known that was it."

"Being a Slytherin isn't such a bad thing," Hermione said. "You shouldn't judge him so quickly Harry."

"Name one Slytherin that's turned out okay and I'll take it all back," Harry said.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. For the first time in ages, Hermione Granger seemed to not have an answer to something.

"Fine, I can't think of an example at the moment," Hermione sighed. "But he can't be so bad if Dumbledore wanted to hire him."

"Yeah, because all of the other people that Dumbledore has hired for that job have turned out to be wonderful people," Ron said sarcastically.

"Don't be like that Ronald," Hermione said scornfully. "Besides, they said that he worked for Dumbledore before so he can't be too bad."

"I hope you're right," Ginny said.

I didn't say it out loud, but I was hoping the same thing. Being a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts wasn't really a good thing. They just didn't have the best of luck...

...

Just as I sat the last few plates and utensils on the table for dinner, I heard a knock on the front door of the house. Mr. Weasley rushed over to it while Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Hermione, and I finished setting the table.

"How are you boys doing - did you have a good business day?" Mr. Weasley said from the front of the house.

"As good as always," Fred said proudly. "We nearly had to kick a few people out for staying past closing."

"It's difficult being so popular," George sighed.

"Sounds like it - you must get your charm from me," Mr. Weasley said. "Come to the kitchen - we just got dinner on the table."

"Did he say we," Ginny said. "He didn't do anything."

Mrs. Weasley shot her daughter a look before she turned back toward the door where her twin boys came marching through in what seemed to be the best suits I'd ever seen them wear. Well, I guess I haven't seen them in suits very often - but they were really spiffy regardless.

Mrs. Weasley stood in her place for a moment with a huge smile on her face before she suddenly walked over to her sons and hugged them both very tightly around their waists.

"Oh, I've missed you both so much," she said in a muffled voice as she squeezed them.

"We just saw you a few days ago," Fred said. "It hasn't been that long!"

"Try not to crush my lungs Mum," George said. "I might need to use those later."

George hugged his mother back and looked around at everyone from over her shoulder. When his eyes met mine, a big smile went across his face and he gave me a quick wink before his mother finally let him go.

"Are you all hungry - I've cooked plenty to eat," Mrs. Weasley said as she walked around the table to find where she would be sitting. "Don't be shy - take as much as you want."

"Don't mind if I do," Fred said cheerfully as he took his jacket and put it on the back of a chair that he chose to sit down on.

Everyone else followed suit and quickly found a chair. George nearly tripped over himself trying to get a seat next to me and almost lost the seat to my left by Ron, but he just blankly stared at Ron until he moved so he could have that seat.

"Hey babe," George said as he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Has my family annoyed you too much today?"

"Excuse you," Ginny said from the other side of the table.

"They've been lovely," I said as I reached for the bowl of carrots in front of me.

"I'll have to ask you that again once they aren't in the room," he laughed.

I elbowed him lightly and he laughed before he grabbed for something to eat. Within minutes of starting our meal, everyone was already chatting happily around the table about any old thing they could think of. Mr. Weasley was telling Mrs. Weasley about what was going on with his department in the Ministry while Ginny and Hermione told Harry all about what they did during their summer vacations. Fred, George, Ron, and I had our own conversation which consisted mostly of Fred talking about all of the customers at the new joke shop.

"You should see them - they're all mad!" Fred said. "I nearly had someone hit me in the head when I told them that we were all out of dungbombs today."

"I can't wait until I see the place," I said. "It must be great if you're so busy all of the time."

"You should have assumed that it was great anyway," Fred said. "It's our shop, so it's naturally going to be amazing."

"Don't get cocky," I warned.

"Don't tell me what to do," he said while pointing his fork at me.

Not much later after dinner, we all found ourselves going up to bed. It had been a long day of catching up with everyone and I was still tired from the lack of sleep that I got the previous night.

"Emily dear - would you mind sleeping in Ginny's room tonight with her and Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, sure," I yawned. "But what's wrong with the room we've been in?"

"We're going to be staying the night," Fred explained. "I mean, you could bunk with us - I'm sure George wouldn't mind - "

Fred laughed and Mrs. Weasley threw him a look. George hid a smirk from his mother, and I just laughed and walked up to Fred and George's room to grab my things before retiring in Ginny's room. It only took a few minutes before I fell into a deep sleep.

...

CLINK!

I jumped up from my sleep and I looked around the room - what was that noise that I heard? Maybe it was just something from a dream I had been having. I shrugged it off and pulled my blankets closer to me before I closed my eyes again.

CLINK!

I sat up in my bed and looked around again. Hermione started to stir in her sleep, but Ginny seemed to be unalarmed by the noise as she continued to sleep. When Hermione rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock next to her before she noticed me sitting up.

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

"Yeah, what's going on?" she asked through her yawning.

CLINK - CLINK!

Both of us suddenly looked over to the window where I could have sworn the noise was coming from. This time the noise woke up a very annoyed Ginny who immediately glared from Hermione to me trying to figure out who she should yell at for waking her up.

"What are you two doing?" she asked irritably.

Her hair was tossed around in a mess from her sleeping, so it was really hard to take any of her anger seriously. Instead of laughing at her and making her angrier, we both shrugged and looked over at the window.

"I think that there's something outside," I said.

Then I saw a small, round object flying at the window that the noises were coming from. All three of us stood up quickly and walked over to see what was going on. Ginny, who seemed to be still irritated from being woken up, threw the window open and stuck her head out of it.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shouted down after a minute.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Can you get Emily?" I heard someone say from below.

"He wants you," Ginny grunted as she stomped away from the window and threw herself under the blankets that she had been sleeping underneath peacefully only a few minutes ago.

Although I was seriously confused, I still walked over to the window and hesitantly stuck my head out of the window to see who it was.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, with hair so fine - come out your window, climb down the vine," George said dramatically.

I let out a laugh and shook my head. Through the dark of the night, I could see George standing on the ground with a few pebbles in his hand - so that's what it was, he must have been throwing them at the window to get our attention.

"Wait a minute, how do you even know who Rapunzel is?" I asked him. "It's a Muggle story."

"Our father was going through a phase," he shrugged. "Just get down here!"

"Okay, okay - let me get dressed," I said.

"You don't have to be dressed babe," he winked.

"George!" Hermione hissed from behind me.

I laughed at them both before I rushed over to get into some jeans and a green t-shirt that I had lying on the top of my suitcase. I stuck the shoes on my feet that Tonks had sent over for my birthday and walked back over to the window. The thick vines that ran down to the ground made me feel uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" George asked from below after I stood there for a moment.

"What if they break and I fall?" I asked. "It isn't exactly a short distance, you know?"

"You practically weigh two pounds - the vines aren't going to break," George said. "Besides, I'd catch you anyway."

"You better," I muttered as I threw one leg outside of the window.

"Emily - what if you get caught?" Hermione asked. "It's five in the morning - everyone is going to wake up soon!"

"I'll cover you," Ginny groaned from her bed.

"Thanks - see you later!" I said as I put my other foot out the window and started to climb down.

I went down slowly and I felt uncomfortable with each new place I put my foot. When I looked down, George smiled up at me as he moved himself to make sure he would be in a spot to catch me in case I fell. Half way down the vine, I started to relax when I knew that there wasn't much further to go. And of course, as fate would have it, I found myself unable to pull my foot out of the vine to move down.

"Why'd you stop?" George asked.

"I think I'm stuck," I said sounding a little bit panicked. "My foot - it won't move."

"Try to take off your shoe," he suggested.

"But won't it get stuck here?" I asked.

"Well...yes," he said sounding confused.

"But Tonks gave me these for my birthday," I said.

George let out a laugh and I threw a look at him. I was irritated for a minute until I realized how much of a prat I just made out of myself. I started laughing too and then reached down and yanked my foot right out of my shoe so I was free.

I quickly began moving down the vine again and jumped down once I got to the bottom. When I got there, George picked me up from the ground and hugged me tightly before putting me back down.

"Well good morning to you," I smiled when he took my hand.

"It's a good morning now," he said while beaming at me.

"You are so corny," I laughed. "But I love you all the same."

"The feeling is mutual," he winked. "Now, do you want to go see the sun rise?"

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes," he said as if this was a completely normal thing to do. "I normally wake up before the sun anyway with these crazy business hours, but I thought it would be something you would like."

"Okay, lead the way," I smiled.

He nodded and pulled me along to a tree just a few yards away from the Burrow. We sat at its base and looked out toward the horizon. Part of me wanted to laugh at how he had taken the time to wake me up so we could see the sun rise, but it was really sweet at the same time. I wonder if this had been something he was planning to do for a while or if it was just a spur of the moment sort of thing. Either way, I was happy to have an excuse to cuddle up to my boyfriend that I hadn't seen in so long.

"Do you really watch the sun rise every day?" I asked.

"Usually," he said with a smirk. "Fred and I like to keep up with our romance like this."

"Very funny," I chuckled.

The horizon began to lighten up a bit and looked more purple like than it did a navy blue like it had moments before. I leaned my head back into George's shoulder and let out a sigh. I would have loved to be able to sit with him like this forever - not a care in the world and just peace all around us.

"Is Harry getting any better?" George asked after a moment.

"I think so," I said. "I've been trying not to bother him as much, and I'm pretty sure that being around other people is helping him a lot. He can't hide from everyone here like he did at the Dursleys."

"I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon," George said. "It just takes a little longer for some people to deal with things."

"I know..." I sighed. "I just don't like seeing him so sad all of the time - he would usually get better after we talked, that's why I was being so pushy."

"Maybe he just needs some space this time," George said. "He was really close with Sirius."

"And I wasn't?" I said.

"I'm not saying that," he said quickly. "I'm just saying that you two have seen a lot of people die and maybe Sirius's death just pushed him over the edge."

I wanted to tell him that Sirius's death wasn't the only thing that was bothering us, but I couldn't. I was afraid of how George would react if I even suggested what the prophecy said about our future. He would panic and worry, and I didn't want him to go through that. Times were hard enough without throwing that information on him.

"So Ginny told me that you got to meet the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," George said.

"Unfortunately," I frowned.

"Is he that bad?" George asked.

"Well, it isn't that he's bad," I said. "He's just strange, that's all. He kept going on about how he taught our parents and how much he loved my mother. It was just awkward...and we had to try to convince him to come out of retirement."

"That's what I heard," George said. "Mum said that she had him as a professor when she went to Hogwarts - she said that he loved to pick favorites. She didn't say too much about him, so I'm guessing that he didn't pick her as one of them."

"Dumbledore says that he likes to befriend important people," I said. "I guess it makes him feel important too."

"So that's why Dumbledore brought you two along," George nodded in understanding.

"More or less," I sighed. "I didn't like it - he made me feel like I was an animal he was looking at in the zoo."

"You mean that you weren't?" he asked.

"Keep it up," I laughed.

"I'm sure he'll relax once the year starts up," he continued. "And I'm sure that he's good at what he does if Dumbledore wanted you two to help bring him back."

"He better be," I said.

Just then, the sun began to poke out of the horizon. Slowly it began to climb up out into the sky and we both watched it in silence. It was a beautiful thing to sit back and watch nature like this - I wasn't used to it. Maybe I needed to do more of this so I wouldn't get so stressed out all of the time...

When the sun was completely above the horizon, I turned around and looked at George to see what he was doing. He smiled at me before he leaned in and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled closer to me and deepened the kiss. Just as he began to lean me down against the ground, my heart nearly stopped beating when I heard a loud yell come from the house.

"GEORGE - EMILY - WHERE ARE YOU?"

Both of us suddenly broke apart and jumped up from where we were sitting. From where I was, I could see Mrs. Weasley marching out of the Burrow looking both furious and worried at the same time. When I saw George's face, I started to wonder if he was going to run away from his mother in terror, but he seemed to be frozen in place.

I grabbed George's hand and quickly walked over so we were within her sight. As soon as her eyes found us, they narrowed and I immediately understood the terror in George's eyes. Mrs. Weasley was going to murder us - Voldemort would be so disappointed.

"Where have you two been?" she asked while her eyes burned into George's face. "I've been worried sick - both of your beds empty - I cannot believe - "

"We were just watching the sun set," George said quietly.

"Watching the sun set - a likely story!" Mrs. Weasley said while she grabbed George's arm and pulled him away from me so she could practically drag him to the door. "I was not born yesterday George Weasley - imagine what Harry would say if he found out you two were missing - how many times must I tell you that I don't want the two of you alone - "

I didn't catch the rest of the conversation as she dragged him into the house, but I had a feeling that I knew where it was going from that point. I stifled a laugh and pushed the door open and walked directly up the stairs so I wouldn't make things more awkward in the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley had taken George. I immediately found my way to Ginny's room where I found both Hermione and her asleep.

"So much for covering me," I said.

Hermione sat up quickly and looked around as if she was lost. Ginny, on the other hand, remained fast asleep under her covers.

"I'm so sorry - what happened?" Hermione asked quickly.

"Mrs. Weasley noticed that we were gone," I said. "So she started to assume some things..."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "What could you two possibly be doing - oh!"

Hermione's face flushed and she started to pick nervously at her fingernails.

"Well, you two have been dating for a while," she said. "...so...have you two ever - ?"

Luckily she didn't finish her question because there was a knock on the door and Harry popped his head in. I thanked God that he didn't hear the conversation that we were having - I think he would have lost it.

"What's going on downstairs?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"George looks like he was just hit in the head with a Bludger," Harry said as he stepped into the room. "And Mrs. Weasley looks like she's the one that hit him with it."

"Oh, I'm not sure," I said while eyeing Hermione.

Harry looked at both of us and raised an eyebrow - he was suspicious of us. Sure nothing actually happened this morning, but I didn't want to go through the trouble. I knew that Harry would be as irritated as Mrs. Weasley that I was out with George by ourselves.

Some things were just best left unknown between a brother and sister.

...

**Thanks for reading - I hope you liked it! The next chapter should be up around Friday! (If you see any mistakes, feel free to tell me so I can fix them)**

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	5. Unexpected News and OWL Results

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 5**

After Harry left Ginny's bedroom, all of us found new clothes to put on for the day. It took a few minutes to get Ginny out of bed, but eventually we managed to get her moving once we heard Mrs. Weasley's voice calling up to the rest of the house to wake up. When I heard a knock on the door and she walked in, I half-expected her to start lecturing me like she had with George, but I was pleasantly surprised.

"You all need to get downstairs," she said sounding a bit desperate. "Bill has just gotten back."

Ginny's face drained of all color and she let out an agitated moan as she covered her face in her hands. Hermione just looked up at the ceiling and let out a loud sigh as if she were preparing herself for a long, hard day. I raised and eyebrow and looked around at the three other girls in the room and wondered why they all seemed to be so upset that Bill had returned - wasn't this usually a good thing?

"Are you all mad at Bill or something?" I asked.

"Oh heavens no," Mrs. Weasley said sounding surprised.

"We haven't told you, have we?" Hermione asked. "I'm so sorry Emily - I was just so happy that they had left for the day that I didn't even think about how you didn't know yet."

"Know what?" I asked.

That's when I suddenly heard a loud, annoying sound of excitement from down the hall. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes as she stepped into the room to avoid whoever it was that was now speaking rapidly with a French accent.

I stepped out of Ginny's room and looked just down the hall where a familiar looking girl stood. Just as I began to question where I'd seen this silver-haired beauty, she turned her head away from my star-struck brother and caught a glimpse of me.

"Amilie!" she squealed when she saw me.

"For the love of god," Ginny muttered as her palm went to her face.

I looked at Fleur Delacour as she skipped over to me like I was a long-lost friend of hers. I stumbled back a little when she threw her arms around me and then hesitantly hugged her back. What was going on - why was she here?

"I mizzed seeing you," she said to me. "It'z been far too long!"

"Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?" I asked as she let go of me.

Fleur tilted her head to the side in confusion just as Harry walked over to stand next to me. Harry looked as lost as I was which made me feel better about not knowing what was going on. Why were things always like this - we were always the last ones to find out anything. It just made things more awkward than they needed to be.

"No one told you?" she asked.

"Told us what exactly?" Harry asked.

"Bill and I are going to be married!" she said with a huge smile.

She began to squeal in excitement and jumped around to give us both hugs again and I gave her an awkward smile of congratulations, but I was still in way too much shock to deal with this. And since when was Fleur so excitable? The last time I saw her was during the Triwizard Tournament, and she seemed to be a very serious girl back then. Maybe it was just because she was one of the champions and she had to deal with all the pressure.

"That's wonderful," Harry said finally. "Is he here as well?"

"No, no," she shook her head. "He's very, very buzy at ze moment with his work. I came 'ere to get to know ze family better."

"Oh really, that's a good idea," I nodded robotically. "So how long are you staying here?"

"I've been 'ere a couple of dayz now," she said while placing her hand on her chin in thought. "I was looking around at ze shops yesterday to see what zey 'ave 'ere - not as good as ze ones I have at home - oh Mrs. Weezley!"

Mrs. Weasley grimaced as she stepped out of Ginny's room. I had to hold back a laugh when I saw her hand clutching onto her daughter's shirt in desperation as she walked towards us.

"Oh, how lovely to see you again," she said with a twitch in her eye. "I thought that you were going to be out in town for a couple of days."

"Ze shops were horrible," Fleur said with a look of disgust. "I would rather look somewhere near my home."

"Do you need help packing?" Ginny asked.

Mrs. Weasley elbowed Ginny in her rib and then continued to walk towards the stairs. Fleur began to walk towards them and I took that as my cue to walk back and see what Hermione was doing so I wouldn't have to deal with all of Fleur's madness. Just when I thought I was in the clear, I felt a sudden tug on my arm and I turned to see Fleur's perfect smile right near my face.

"Let's go downstairs and help zem with ze cooking," Fleur said excitably.

"Of fun," I said under my breath.

She practically dragged me down the stairs to follow Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, both of which were walking a lot faster than we were to keep distance from her. To be honest, I completely got where they were coming from with not wanting to be around Bill's new fiancé. I had only been around her for a couple of minutes and wanted to be away from her already. It wasn't even that she was a rude person, but it just seemed like she was very overwhelming to be around.

I let out a breath of relief when she finally let go of me once we reached the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley immediately began to pull out pots and pans without making any direct eye contact with anyone while Ginny ran off to grab the plates and utensils to set out on the table.

"Can I do anyzing to help?" Fleur asked while running her hand through her perfect hair.

"Go outside and pick the vegetables from the garden," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Vonderful!" she clapped her hands together. "Perhaps Amilie could help me?"

She smiled over at me and twisted her hair around her finger innocently as she looked over at her soon-to-be mother-in-law. Mrs. Weasley's eyes flickered over to mine and I desperately wished that she could read my mind that was practically begging her to give me something else to do - I don't know if I could take being thrown out with Fleur on my own like this. It would be a lot like being thrown into a circle of hungry dogs.

"I need her in here," Mrs. Weasley said. "Just take the gloves and go out - take your time out there, dear."

Fleur nodded and skipped over to take a pair of pink gloves off of a shelves. Right when the door closed behind her, Ginny let out a sigh.

"What is it that Bill likes about her?" Ginny asked. "I still can't figure it out."

"She isn't too bad..." I said with a grimace.

"Fine, go out there and help her with the garden then," Mrs. Weasley said with a raised eyebrow.

"Do I have to?" I asked desperately.

"That's what I thought," Mrs. Weasley smiled as she turned back to her work. "Now help Ginny with the table."

I grabbed a few forks and spoon and set them all out on the table in perfect order. Just then Fred stepped into the room and had a grin on his face when he saw me. He took a seat at the table and his eyes flickered over to his mother.

"Hey Emily," he said. "I heard that you and George had a fun morning."

Mrs. Weasley shot him a look that could have hurt the strongest of men before she grabbed a knife and began to aggressively cut the loafs of bread into several different slices.

"I'm only joking, Mum," Fred said with a smile. "But I did hear that you met the newest addition to the Weasley family, my dear Emily."

"They aren't married yet Fred," Ginny said.

"I know, I just like to remind everyone how miserable it's going to be with her around," Fred said. "Too bad that you all don't have a successful business to keep you busy and away from people like Fleur."

Ginny and I set the last few plates on the table and then took a seat with Fred.

"Not to be rude, but how did Bill end up with her?" I asked. "I didn't really see him going with someone like her."

"Bill's always been a bit reckless," Ginny said. "So that's why he decided to go with a train wreck like her."

"She isn't hard to look at though," Fred smiled.

"So your saying that you would go for a girl like that too?" Ginny asked in disgust.

"I would try," he shrugged.

"You're a pig," Ginny scoffed.

"I'm not going to lie - the girl is gorgeous," Fred said in defense. "I'm not saying that she's good to be around, but I could see what the initial attraction was."

"Whatever," Ginny rolled her eyes. "I just wish that he would have picked someone else."

"Well, it's too late now," Mrs. Weasley said. "They're already getting married and we can't do anything to stop them."

"Why don't you like her Mrs. Weasley?" I asked.

"It's not that I don't like her," she said.

"Mum hates here," Ginny said.

"I do not hate her," she snapped. "I just think that they're too young to get married - they've hardly known each other for a year."

"How long did you date Mr. Weasley before he proposed?" I asked.

Mrs. Weasley dropped her wand from her and quickly scrambled to pick it up. Once she has it again, she seemed to be avoiding my gaze completely.

"Times were different then," she coughed. "And we weren't rushing into anything - we knew that we were right for each other."

"Not that I'm taking their side over your, but what makes you think they're rushing into marriage?" I asked.

"Like I said, they haven't known each other that long," she said. "And I feel like everyone's rushing to get things done now that Voldemort's returned - no one knows how long they have left in the world..."

It was really sad if you thought about it that way, but it was true. Everyone was going to rush into things like this if they weren't sure how much longer they would have in this world and it was all up to Harry and me to put an end to it. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it out of this alive, but I would do everything in my power to try to stop Voldemort from taking everyone's lives.

"I'm back!"

I jumped in my chair and looked over to the door to see who it was that was speaking in that singsong voice. It wasn't at all surprising to find that it was Fleur returning with the vegetables.

"Wonderful," Ginny sighed and then turned to me. "Where's Hermione?"

"I think she's upstairs with-" I started.

"HERMIONE, GET DOWN HERE!" Ginny shouted.

"Keep your voice down Ginevra!" Mrs. Weasley

Ginny shrugged her shoulders and then turned to look towards the steps where I could hear footsteps moving rapidly toward us. Only a moment later Harry, Hermione, and Ron all came into the room looking around at us all. Hermione's face seemed to fall when she caught sight of Fleur, but her distaste was quickly hidden when she turned to us. That's when I noticed that there seemed to be something wrong with her eye.

"Hermione, why do you look like someone just punched you in the face?" I asked.

Hermione glared over at Fred and that basically answered my question. She must have gotten a hold of one of their products and received the worse end of it. Judging by the mark that it left behind I would guess that it was that telescope that punches you in the face if you squeeze it too hard.

"I'm going to go see where George has run off to," Fred said quickly as he exited the room.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Weasley said when she saw Hermione's face. "Let me see if I can fix that for you - I'll have a word with Fred and George once we're done with this...always leaving their things lying around..."

Mrs. Weasley hopelessly looked through a book for some sort of remedy for Hermione's black eye, but she didn't seem to able to find anything for a while. She waved her wand and did everything that she could think, but nothing seemed to do the trick. Finally, feeling defeated, Mrs. Weasley finally said that she would have to look at it later.

"Zey are ze funniest boys, I hear," Fleur said as she sat down and beamed at us all. "Bill always tells me about zem! But wouldn't you zink zat zey would pick a more respectable field of work - it's child's play if you ask me-

"I don't remember anyone asking for your opinion," I said coldly. "What they do takes more brains than you would think."

"I don't know about all of zat," Fleur said oblivious to everyone's glaring eyes on her. "If zey were so brilliant, zey would be doing somezing else, don't you zink?"

"Trust me, you don't know what I am thinking," I said through gritted teeth.

"Fleur, why don't you do something with the trash?" Mrs. Weasley suggested with a very red face.

"It only makes sense for someone as trashy as her to do something with the garbage," I mumbled under my breath

Once she was away from us all, I could practically hear everyone cursing under their breath. Who does she think she is anyway? She just comes into a house where she is unwelcome and insults the family - she better be happy that I kept my temper under control...

"So I heard that the results for your O.W.L.'s are coming in today," Mrs. Weasley said in an attempt to ease the tension in the room. "At least that's what Dumbledore told me in the last letter that he sent me."

"What?" Hermione said anxiously. "Has anyone checked to see if the mail has come in? Oh, I'll do it myself!"

She rushed off into the other room while Ron and Harry took a seat near Ginny and me. Only moments later, Hermione came back with a stack of letters in her hand and she seemed to be shaking from excitement or fear - or possibly both.

"Good luck to you all," Mrs. Weasley said as she set out the food on the table for breakfast.

I didn't realize how nervous I would be about these results until Hermione handed me my letter. With my mind far from the food that was set in front of me, I quickly and nervously ripped my letter open and scanned through it.

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

Pass Grades:

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

Fail Grades:

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

Emily Lily Potter has achieved:

Astronomy E

Care of Magical Creatures A

Charms E

Defense Against the Dark Arts E

Divination D

Herbology O

History of Magic D

Potions O

Transfiguration E

I had to read through it again before I decided that I hadn't done too badly. I didn't expect to do any good with History of Magic or Divination, but I was in shock that I managed to get two 'Oustanding' grades. It didn't surprise me very much that I got one in Potions, but I had a feeling that I only got one in Herbology because Neville was constantly having me help him study for that one - there wasn't a doubt in my mind that he got the same grade in that one as I did.

"How did you all do?" Ron asked.

"Not too bad - I even got an 'O' in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry said.

"I only got an 'E' in that one," I said with disappointment. "But I suppose that it had to do with that one spell I kept confusing for the other..."

"Let me see yours," Harry said as he took my sheet. "Wow - two Outstanding grades, that's really good Emily."

"Two?" Ron asked. "Which ones?"

"Herbology and Potions," I told him.

"I didn't get any 'O's," Ron said while looking at his results. "Oh well - what about you Hermione, you're being kind of quiet."

"I didn't do that bad," she said quietly.

"What did you get?" I asked.

"Let me see," Ron said as he took hers. "Just as I expected - ten Outstanding grades and only one Exceeds Expectations."

"Wow, that's incredible," I said. "What did you get the 'E' in?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," she said. "I thought I would do better being in Dumbledore's Army and all..."

"Well, I helped teach it and I got the same grade," I shrugged.

Just as we all started to eat breakfast, Fred and George came into the room with Fleur following close behind them. George seemed to be a lot more quiet than usual and stared at his mother in fear as he slowly sat down in the chair next to me.

"What did she say to you?" I whispered.

"I'd rather not talk about it..." he mumbled as he grabbed some eggs.

"Was it that bad?" I asked.

"It was just...incredibly awkward," he said. "Not the conversation that a mother and son usually has..."

Fred smirked at his brother from across the table and then winked at me. So I guess that's why the two of them went missing for a bit. Fred must have gone to see what happened between his brother and his mum. Although I didn't know the exact details, I had a feeling that I knew what the general topic was.

"Did you all hear that the OWL results came in?" Mrs. Weasley asked Fred and George.

"Zey did?" Fleur asked. "I did vonderful on mine - "

"How did you do?" George asked us over Fleur.

"Not too awful," Ron said. "I didn't get any Outstanding grades, but Hermione got ten!"

"Ten?" Fred said sounding impressed. "That's incredible, I couldn't have gotten that if I tried."

Hermione went red and wouldn't look at anyone. It's almost amusing how she didn't expect to do as good as she did - no one in the school studies as hard as she does.

"I only got one 'O'," Harry shrugged. "It was in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I didn't do bad in the others either - only failed two."

"What about you, Emily?" George asked.

"I got an Outstanding in Potions and Herbology," I said. "And I only failed History of Magic and Divination - I hated those classes anyway."

"Congratulations," he smiled and gave me a quick kiss.

I smiled back at him before returning to my breakfast. After a couple minutes, I noticed Harry looked very concerned as he looked down at his grades.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Just...you know, I needed an 'O' to get into a NEWT Potions course," he said with disappointment. "I needed that to become an Auror..."

"Oh," I said with realization. "Well...er...maybe we could convince Snape to - "

"Thanks, really," Harry said with a weak smile. "But there's no chance that Snape is going to let me through."

"But if we talked to Dumbledore, then maybe we could work something out," I suggested hopelessly.

"There's no point," he sighed. "I didn't meet the requirements...maybe I could find something else..."

I felt awful knowing that there was nothing I could do to help him. Being an Auror was something that Harry had wanted for a long time. I was told before that we would both do a wonderful job with that career, but it was only Harry that really aspired to do that. Now there was hardly a chance all because of a grade requirement with Snape.

Harry was right though, there was no way that Dumbledore or Snape would bend the rules so Harry could get into Potions class - he had already bent enough rules with us as it was. Asking for this would be too much, and I seriously doubted that it would work anyway.

But, in all reality, these careers that we chose may not even matter. The grades that lay in front of us would mean nothing if the prophecy we were given came out badly on our end. For all we knew we wouldn't even make it far enough in life to settle down. To be honest, it was hard to picture us leading a life without Voldemort trying to destroy us.

I guess that there would be no reason to plan out our future until we were sure that we would have one. Until then, we had to focus on the mission at hand and bring peace to the wizarding world.

I just hoped that we have what it takes to do it.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I should have the next chapter up within a week from now - I don't see much purpose in setting an actual date considering I never have the chapter up by then. Tell me what you think!**

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	6. Escaping Bill's Fiancé

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 6**

Weeks at the Burrow seemed to fly by quicker than a single day would at the Dursleys. Although Fleur was consistently annoying me about helping with her wedding and finding new ways to irritate the life out of me, I was happier here than I would be anywhere else. There were times that I would forget how much better off I had it though...

"Do you zink I should go with ze purple flowers or ze yellow flowers?" she asked as she raced down the stairs with me.

"I don't know, which do you like better?" I shrugged.

"Both of zem - zat's why I'm asking you!" she said excitably.

"Why don't you ask you're fiancé?" I asked. "He's the one you're marrying!"

"But he says zat he does not care," she said as she followed me outside. "Zat is why I ask you!"

"Fleur, I'm going to be honest with you," I said while stopping in my tracks and looking her directly in the eyes. "I couldn't care less about the flowers - just pick the one that you think would look better!"

"But I am stuck!" she said. "I need to know which to use!"

"Just use them both!" I said hopelessly.

Fleur blinked in surprise and then a smile went across her face. It was as if I had just came up with a way to have world peace, but I seriously doubted that she realized I was just trying to get her to stop talking about flower arrangements at her wedding.

"Zat is brilliant!" she said. "I shall go see what Bill zinks!"

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled," I said bluntly.

I stepped out the back door and marched over to where Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were all playing Quidditch in the backyard. I took a seat next to the garden and watches as Hermione tossed the Quaffle over to Harry while narrowly missing Ron's face.

We were taking turns with Fleur and today was my day. Even though she seemed to have taken a liking to me, we found that it would keep us all sane we alternated days where one person had to keep her occupied at all times. It was pretty horrible at first, but it all eased up once Bill came to visit with his family and bride-to-be because we now had someone that actually wanted to be around her.

Every now and then I had to remind myself that this was the same stern girl that I competed against in the Triwizard Tournament. It was like she had done a 180 with her personality, but I had a growing suspicion that her seriousness during the Tournament was all an act to make her school look better.

"You want to take my place?" Hermione asked when they all landed for a short break. "I'm no good anyway."

"No, you can play," I said. "I don't mind."

"No, you're playing," a voice said behind me.

I turned to see Bill walking toward us all with a big smile on his face and two extra brooms in his hands.

"George tells me you're pretty good a Quidditch," Bill said. "I guess we're going to have to put that to the test - what do you all think about a three-on-three game?"

"She is pretty good," Harry agreed.

I let out a sigh and then took the broom from Bill's hand with a smile. When I flew out into the sky, I felt the familiar rush of wind and remembered why I liked Quidditch so much. To be honest, it wasn't really the game that kept me on the team last year - it was the feeling of freedom that I had when I went up into the sky that had no comparison. It also helped that I was a Beater which meant that I could relieve any pent up anger by swinging a bat as hard as I could at the Bludger that was attacking my team. Somehow I found that very relaxing.

"Okay - Emily, you're on Ginny and Hermione's team," Harry said. "Bill - come join me and Ron."

"So it's boys against girls?" I said once we were divided on our make-shift field.

"I guess so," Harry said. "Unless you all want to switch the players around -"

"No, I think we're good," Ginny grinned. "We'll still kick your ass regardless."

"We'll see about that," Bill winked.

We played for a good two hours before we were finally told to stop for lunch by Mrs. Weasley. My team was winning for a long time until Hermione accidentally threw the Quaffle to Bill instead of me. After that, they basically destroyed us on the field.

"You should have known that we were going to win," Bill sighed when he got off of his broomstick.

"We only felt bad for you," I laughed. "Just wait until next time."

"That sounds like a challenge," he said.

"Don't worry, it won't be much of one for us," I smirked.

We all got inside and immediately sat down to eat some sandwiches that Mrs. Weasley made for us. With Fred and George gone, the house seemed to be a lot emptier, but maybe it was just my imagination. They only stayed over night for one day before they had to head back to Diagon Alley and that felt like it had been ages ago. Although I was happy that their business was doing so well, I couldn't help but miss George terribly. With school starting up again soon I knew that my opportunities to see him were running out and it was only killing me more that I couldn't make the most out of it. But then again it wasn't like he was just ignoring me, and I really am proud of his work at the shop.

"So your letters came in the mail today," Mrs. Weasley said as she walked into the room with envelopes in hand. "I figured that we could make a trip to Diagon Alley this weekend and pick up everything early."

"Sounds good," Ron said as he took his letter from Mrs. Weasley.

I opened mine up and looked through the list. There wasn't too much that I needed to get other than some books and maybe some more supplies for my advanced potions class that I would be taking. Considering that it would only be Hermione and me that were taking this course, I figured that we wouldn't have to make that a long visit to the shop.

"I've been made Quidditch Captain!" Harry said suddenly.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"See - look!" he said with excitement.

He held up a strange looking badge that reminded me of the prefect badges that Ron and Hermione got last year. It wasn't all that shocking that he was made captain, but I hadn't even thought about how he would be in line for that position.

"That's excellent!" Hermione said. "Now we can all use the prefects bathrooms."

I raised an eyebrow and looked over at Hermione.

"Am I just not included in this or...?" I said.

"Oh, sorry," she said going a little pink in the face.

"Don't worry about it," Bill said. "That bathroom is overrated anyway."

"Yeah, who needs you all anyway," I said. "I can just hang out with Myrtle instead."

Everyone started laughing, but it immediately stopped as soon as a certain girl with silver hair walked into the room with an excited look on her face.

"There's my Bill!" she said with a large smile.

She ran over towards Bill and jumped into his lap, smacking Mrs. Weasley in the face with her hair on the way there. I stifled back a snort as Fleur began to babble on about the wedding and a bunch of other stuff that I couldn't understand once she went off into French.

"Here we go," Ginny rolled her eyes. "She does realize that we don't speak in French, right?"

"I don't care," I said quietly. "The less I understand, the better."

When Saturday finally came around all of us were practically beating the door down to get out of the house. Mostly, for me anyway, it was to get away from Fleur and her constant need to ask me for advise for her wedding. Another added bonus was that we would be stopping by Fred and George's shop at some point during the day. I'd never gotten to see it before other than a picture when they first bought it, but it hadn't been furnished at the time the picture was taken.

"Amiliee!" Fleur said loudly as we started walking toward the door. "One more thing before you go!"

"What is it?" I groaned.

"Iz zer any way zat you could 'elp me find ze place for ze wedding?" she asked.

"Not right now," I said as my eyes flickered towards the door. "We're leaving - maybe when we get back?"

"Vonderful!" she said happily. "I vas going to ask Bill, but he has been so busy!"

"What's going on?" Bill asked as he walked around the corner and into the room.

"Your fiancé needs help picking the wedding location," I said. "Have a good day!"

We all quickly piled out of the door before anyone had a chance to comment on what I said. I was instantly filled with relief as soon as we were inside of the cars that Mr. Weasley got for us. Even though they seemed to be rather small on the outside, we found that they had been magically enlarged on the inside so that we could all pack into the vehicles.

"So where are we going to go first?" I asked looking forward to a day where I wouldn't be stuck in a house.

"Well, we need to meet up with your extra security first," Mr. Weasley said.

"Our what?" Harry asked.

"I wanted to make sure that we had some extra help just in case," he said uncomfortably. "With everything that's been going on we couldn't afford any sort of risk."

I sat back in my chair with a huff. So that's how this was going to be - the freedom of the day was suddenly shot through the head and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. This was going to be how it was from now on - we weren't going to be able to go anywhere without being watched.

When we got to the Leaky Cauldron, we stepped out of the car and we all moved quickly and quietly into the building. As soon as we got into the all to familiar place, I saw the man that was going to be joining us.

"Hagrid!" Harry said with surprise.

So that's who the additional security was going to be. I was overjoyed that we weren't going to be having an entire army behind us as we did our shopping, so I ran over to Hagrid and he gave us all a big hug.

"Good ter see ya," he said with a smile.

"Have you had a good summer, Hagrid?" I asked him.

"It's been okay," he shrugged. "Nothing new to report..."

"Not to rush everyone, but we ought to be moving," Mrs. Weasley said. "We don't want to prolong this visit anymore than we need to."

We all nodded, but I could see how uncomfortable Mrs. Weasley was. She wasn't happy that we were out of the house like I was - it was obvious that she didn't feel safe as she jerked her head around every time a person moved in the room.

We all quickly walked toward the brick wall that opened up Diagon Alley where Hagrid picked up his old, pink umbrella and hit some of the bricks in a pattern that I had seen him do during our first visit to the place.

As soon as we stepped through the archway, my heart immediately sank.

Diagon Alley was nothing like I remembered it. For the most part, it seemed to be fairly empty apart from a few people in small packs walking quickly down the street. There were posters everywhere from the Ministry posting about suggestions for keeping yourself safe or a person that was wanted. The sneering face of Bellatrix Lestrange was glaring at me as we passed by another shop and I instantly thought about how Lucius Malfoy had already been captured by the Ministry. I could only hope that the same would fall true with her...

What's happened?" I asked as I looked at the street.

"Everyone's going out of business," Hagrid sighed. "Either too scared to be in the public or they've gone missing."

A sick, cold feeling went through my body when I saw the shattered windows and vacant look of Ollivander's wand shop. It may not have been the first place that I'd been to at Diagon Alley, but it was the first place that made me truly believe that all of this was real and not something that was made up. It made me believe that magic was real, and now it was gone.

"No one knows what happened 'ere," Hagrid said as he pointed towards Ollivander's. "They just found it empty - nothing sayin' if he 'ad been taken or just left."

"So what's going to happen now?" I asked quietly. "Where are people going to get their wands?"

"There are other shops," Hermione said softly. "But Ollivander's was the best..."

I didn't know what to say - I was in disbelief on how bad things had gotten. When I stepped out of the car this morning for my "freedom" from the house, I hadn't expected this at all. This wasn't the world that I had left so many months ago - it seemed broken, lost in fear and only hoping that something or someone would come along to save them.

"Okay," Mr. Weasley spoke up. "Where should we go first?"

"I suppose that we could stop by Madam Malkins," Mrs. Weasley suggested. "I know that Ron's robes have gotten a bit shorter, and I'm sure that Harry could go for some new ones. What about you Emily?"

"I should be okay with robes," I said. "I've hardly grown at all since last year."

"We could probably stop by and get some books as well," Mr. Weasley said. "Hagrid, you could take some of the children by the robe shop to get fitted while the rest of us go to Flourish and Blotts."

Ginny and I accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Weasley while Harry, Ron, and Hermione accompanied Hagrid. We quickly walked into the store and I couldn't help but have the feeling that I had all eyes on me when we got into the book shop.

I looked at my feet and immediately stepped over to the potions section to find my books. Since I already had an Advanced Potions book anyway, I decided that I could look through a couple others for something else to do. I had probably already gone through the assigned book a million times since I was given it, so it shouldn't be a problem anyway.

"Emily Potter?"

My head jerked up and I saw a familiar old woman standing in front of me with a small stack of books in her hands.

"Mrs. Longbottom!" I said in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I was just doing some shopping for Neville," she said motioning towards the books in her hands. "It's best to do it now while he still remembers what books he needs."

"Weren't you given a list?" I asked.

"Of course, but you know Neville," she sighed. "He's probably lost it by now."

Just then I saw her grandson walking around the corner with a very large, worn looking book that had a dark green color to it. He started to say something, but stopped when he saw me.

"Oh, hey Emily," he smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking out the scenery," I said sarcastically. "Why else would I be in a bookstore?"

"Point taken," he nodded.

"I was just telling Emily that we were shopping for your books," Mrs. Longbottom said. "We got his letter recently and he's going to be taking a N.E.W.T. Herbology class - he got an Outstanding on his exam!"

"Wow, that's great Neville," I said proudly. "I knew that you were going to though - you're the best in the class."

"I don't know, Hermione does really well - " he started.

"Oh, he's just being modest," Mrs. Longbottom said.

"What were your results?" Neville asked in attempt to take the attention off of him.

"Oh, I didn't do too bad," I said. "I got an Outstanding for Potions and Herbology - your notes helped me a lot, I probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere without them."

"I'm sure you would have done fine anyway," he shrugged. "So that means that Snape is going to take you on in Potions this year - I heard that he's only taking on people that got an Outstanding on the exam...I didn't even pass..."

"You don't need that class anyway," I said trying to cheer him up.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to see Mr. Weasley smiling at me as he held up some books.

"We've just finished up shopping - oh, hello Mrs. Longbottom!" he said when he caught sight of the hold woman. "How have you been?"

"I've been better," she said gravely. "I'm not too fond of all these new security rules that the Ministry is making us go through."

"It's all for your safety," Mr. Weasley said. "I know it's a bit much, but you can never be too cautious at times like these."

"Which is why I wanted to ask why this girl is out here," Mrs. Longbottom said while motioning to me. "Don't you have any sense - if I were her, I would be in hiding. With You-Know-Who back now, I would think that he would be out to kill her - "

"Gran!" Neville said loudly.

"What?" Mrs. Longbottom said. "I'm only saying that everyone is talking about how he's going to be looking for the two of them - I'm just trying to keep them on their guard!"

"You're just making it worse - they're going to be fine!" Neville said irritably.

"Don't get a smart mouth with me, Neville Longbottom," she said with narrowed eyes.

"I'm only saying that you're making her nervous," he said with a sigh.

"Okay, okay," she said. "I'm sure your girlfriend will be - "

"Gran!" Neville said with his face going pink. "She isn't my girlfriend - how many times do I need to tell you this!"

"Well, it was nice seeing you two," Mr. Weasley spoke up. "But we need to get going now - I'm sure that the others have finished up shopping by now."

"See you at school," I waved to Neville and then to his grandmother.

We stepped over towards the register and I set up all of my books next to the register so I could buy it. Once everything was put back into a bag filled with everyone's books, we stepped out into the dark, depressing street again and began to walk toward the robe shop.

"Don't listen to Neville's grandmother," Mr. Weasley said. "You're in good hands - you have nothing to worry about."

"Right, of course," I said slowly.

The sound of Professor Trelawney's voice shot through my head and I was reminded that nothing that anyone did to protect us would matter in the end - Voldemort was going to find us and Harry and I were going to have to finish his reign before he ended our lives.

When I came back to reality, I noticed Ginny staring at me curiously. I tried my best to act like I didn't notice her intense gaze - I didn't want to have to explain anything to her. It wasn't that I didn't trust her to not tell anyone, but the less people that knew about the prophecy, the better.

"Oh no," Ginny grumbled suddenly.

"What?" I asked and then looked ahead of us. "Oh - him."

Coming from the robe shop was a particularly angry looking Draco Malfoy. Followed closely behind him was a woman that I immediately recognized as his mother. Although I could see the resemblance between mother and son, I could only focus on how much this woman looked like someone else I had seen - her sister Bellatrix Lestrange. Fury went through me at once and I had to try hard to remember that they weren't the same person.

When Draco caught sight of me, his eyes flickered over to his mother who had a grin spread across her face that made my ice run cold.

"This must be the other Potter," she said coldly as she stopped in front of me.

Mr. Weasley and the others walked a little further and then stopped when they noticed that I wasn't with them. They all looked at who I was talking too and narrowed their eyes. Although they were standing a little ways in front of me, I could tell that they were all listening intently to what the Malfoys were saying.

"Well, nice to see you two here," I said without enthusiasm and then looked over at his mother. "Have we met?"

"I don't believe so," she said with distaste.

"Well, I'm Emily Potter," I said with a hand held out. "It's...nice to meet you Mrs. Malfoy."

She narrowed her eyes when I strained to give her a compliment, but grabbed onto my hand nonetheless. After a brief moment of awkward silence, Draco cleared his throat and she finally released her tight grip on my hand.

"The pleasure is all mine," she said tonelessly.

"I'm sure," I said without taking her eyes off of her.

Something about this woman rubbed me wrong. Maybe it was the fact that she was married to a Death Eater and was probably carrying out Voldemort's business for her imprisoned spouse now that he was no longer able to. Although Draco and I have had a very odd past before, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. Was he only cruel to everyone because his parents expected him to be or was it just simply in his genetics? It was hard to tell - my opinion on that was constantly changing.

"My son has told me all about you," Mrs. Malfoy said with a cruel smile. "I hear that the only thing that you seem to be good at is Potions - Severus Snape's perfect student."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I said.

"Oh, not at all," she said. "But you won't have to worry about that this year - Professor Snape has obligations elsewhere."

"What are you talking about?" I asked her.

"You need not worry about that," she said evilly.

My eyes flickered over to Draco's, but he seemed to be as confused as I was. What was she talking about - did she know something that I didn't? What ever it was, I didn't like it at all - she was up to something which meant that Voldemort was too.

"Mother, we need to go," Draco said.

"Of course," Mrs. Malfoy said. "It was nice meeting you, I do hope that you have a good year."

While she waved, I could see the evil in her eyes. It wasn't hard to tell that the woman did not like me and I had a feeling, judging by their angry looks as they fled from the robe shop, that my brother wasn't their favorite person in the world either.

"What was that about?" Ginny asked when I caught up to them.

"Just meeting Draco's mom," I said. "She was just as excited to see me as her son was."

"I noticed that," Ginny said.

As we walked into the shop a moment later, my mind was stuck on what Mrs. Malfoy said about Snape. What did she mean that he had "obligations?" What was he up to that she knew about? I couldn't help but have this sinking feeling that Voldemort had won him over, but I just didn't want to believe it.

Was Snape up to something or was she just trying to get my focus off of Voldemort for a while?

* * *

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	7. The Popular Shop

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 7**

After we made a couple more stops at some shops to stock up on Hermione and my potion ingredients for Potions class, we finally decided that we were going to be doing the thing that I had been waiting all summer to do.

"I suppose that we could go see Fred and George's shop now," Mrs. Weasley said while looking at a clock that was hanging nearby.

"Excellent," Ron said while rubbing his hands together.

We moved quickly through the streets that were now filling up with people. Just when I was about to ask how close we were to the shop, I saw it. I didn't even have to see their names on the window to know that it was theirs. The large, pink building stuck out like a sore thumb in the now horror-stricken Diagon Alley. On the windows, rather than being filled with Ministry posters like the rest of the street, the shop had large fireworks and flashing displays that would steal each passerby's attention from them. Above the window display, the large sign read "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

"This is incredible," I said in awe.

"What is that?" Mr. Weasley asked as he pointed to a flashing sign.

_WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO?_

_YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT U-NO-POO-_

_THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION THAT'S GRIPPING THE NATION!_

It was hard to say after I finished reading the sign what part of it all I thought was the funniest: what the sign said or Mrs. Weasley's horror struck face when she saw it.

"That is not funny," she said while going rather pale.

"Sure it is, Mum," Ron said with a laugh of delight. "It's perfect - we have to go inside!"

When I stepped into the shop, it was hard to believe that anyone was feeling at all bothered with being in the outside world at this time - the entire place was so packed that I could hardly navigate around the place. Normally I didn't care for large crowds like these, but my fascination with the shop itself completely took me out of reality - it was everything that George had told me and more! Not only was it the most popular shop on the street like he had said, but it was filled with every product imaginable - trick wands, Nosebleed Nougat, Extendable Ears - everything!

"Anything I can get for you, miss?"

When I turned, I immediately grew a smile on my face when I saw Fred's smug look as he watched us all look around in awe at the shop that he created with his brother.

"Fred...this place is..." I said trying to look for the proper word.

"Fantastic?" he suggested. "Completely and utterly brilliant?"

"I cannot believe it," I said in amazement.

"Why not?" Fred asked as he tugged on his bright colored suit. "George and I are two geniuses - why not have a place that is nearly as fantastic as ourselves?"

"Getting a bit cocky, are we?" Ginny asked with a smile.

"Can you blame me?" Fred smirked.

I rolled my eyes and laughed before he motioned for us to follow him. When I turned around to make sure everyone was still with us, I noticed that just about everyone aside from Harry, Ginny, and me had dispersed and were now roaming the store like the rest of the crowd. As we made our way up the stairs and before we made it to the back, we quickly lost Ginny when she saw something in the store that she wanted.

When Fred pushed through a door that read "Employees Only," I finally let out a breath of air knowing that I didn't have a chance to be trampled anymore by the customers. I only took a couple of steps in the small office before I saw George sitting at a desk going through the Daily Prophet.

"Look what I found," Fred said as he fell gracefully into a green couch that was opposite of George.

George let the newspaper fall into his lap and a smile spread across his face as soon as he saw Harry and me.

"Finally decided to visit, eh?" he asked with a smirk as he stood up.

He walked over and kissed me on the cheek and put his arm around my shoulders before he looked over at Harry.

"So what do you think of the place?" George asked. "Was it worth all of the gold that you gave us?"

"It's incredible," Harry said looking impressed. "And apparently very popular - I could hardly walk out there, you know?"

"Well, I suppose that you both need a proper tour to see some of the latest items," George said. "Fred, shall we?"

Fred jumped up from the couch he had just laid down on and went over to the door and opened it. He motioned for us all to follow with a quirky smile.

"After you," Fred said.

We stepped out into the large shop and I immediately felt like I was thrown into a mosh pit. Feeling a bit claustrophobic, I held tightly onto George's arm as we stepped through.

"Move out of the way people," Fred demanded as he walked easily through the crowd. "Owners coming through - hey, watch yourself!"

Aside from the one guy that ran directly into Fred, the pathway ahead of us cleared up, much to my surprise. We walked directly toward the most packed area of the store and I tried to see where it was Fred was taking us, but I was far too short to see through the crowd.

"Excuse me people!" George shouted over the chaotic crowd that were all trying to look through the items on the shelves. "Owners and the misses coming through!"

"Wait…what does that make me?" Harry asked with confusion. "The extra?"

"Well…" George said awkwardly. "Just move people - we're trying to show these people something."

A small path cleared and we quickly took the opportunity to push through so we could get to the shelves that were behind everyone. Once we got there, I was surprised to see some very odd looking horns that were small and black sitting on each shelf - though it looked like a lot of them had been taken already.

"What are these?" Harry asked as he picked one up from its spot.

"That would be a Decoy Detonator," Fred said as he put his hands in his pocket. "They seem to be the biggest product here at the moment - "

"They're actually very useful to have with you," George said.

"What do they do?" I asked.

"They create a diversion," Fred said. "Helps you get out of any sort of sticky situation."

"Interesting," Harry said. "How much do you want for one of them?"

Fred and George smirked and shook their heads.

"Do you honestly think we're going to make you two pay for them?" Fred asked. "If it weren't for you two then we wouldn't even have a shop."

"We can't just take things from you," Harry said.

"Sure you can," George said while putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "And you will."

Just then Ron walked up to us carrying several different objects in his hands. By the looks of it, he was still very interested in the Skiving Snackboxes.

"Have enough money for all of that, do you?" Fred asked.

"You're not going to make me pay for this, are you?" Ron asked in shock.

"Why wouldn't we make you pay for it?" George laughed. "How else would we make a profit?"

"But I just heard you say that _they _could have free stuff!" Ron said.

"What's your point?" Fred asked with a smirk. "Either you pay or you'll have to put that back."

"That's not fair - " Ron started.

"They're our investors," George said. "They gave us the money to start the shop - why should they pay?"

Ron huffed and started to mumble to himself as he walked away from us and back to where he had found all the products that he was hoping to get.

"Moving on," George said. "Where to next - ?"

"What are these things - I need one of these!" Ginny squealed as she walked over to us.

In her hands was a small, innocent looking purple ball of fur. As it squeaked quietly in her hands, Hermione came walking up behind her with a pink one that seemed to be of the same species.

"That is a Pygmy Puff," Fred said. "Part of the WonderWitch products - they make really good pets actually. They aren't hard to care for at all."

"I've never seen one of these before," I smiled as I walked over and pet the one that Hermione had.

"Where did you find these?" Hermione asked.

"We bred them," George shrugged.

"Really - you two?" Hermione asked with disbelief.

"Wow, try not to be too shocked," George said defensively. "We aren't as dumb as we look."

I laughed and continued to pet the cotton-ball looking animal.

"Speaking of WonderWitch products," Fred said taking on the business role once more. "Over here we have a lovely variety of Love Potions."

"Do they actually work?" I asked as Hermione put her Pygmy Puff back where it came from.

"You want to find out?" Fred winked.

"He never misses an opportunity to hit on you, does he?" George sighed and shook his head at his brother.

"And I never will," Fred smiled.

"What if I told you that if you don't stop that I'll shove one of these potions right up your - " George started.

"Love Potions?" Ginny asked as she walked over to us.

"Yes," Fred said, happily changing the subject. "Very powerful stuff - not that you need any of it."

"And what does that mean?" Ginny asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing at all," George said. "I've just heard that you've found yourself a new man."

"You have?" Harry suddenly spoke up quickly.

Everyone looked over to Harry for a moment and I raised an eyebrow. He went red in the face and started trying to act casual, but he wasn't fooling me or anyone else for that matter.

"Maybe I do," Ginny said. "What does it matter to you anyway?"

"Ginny can date whoever she wants to," I said.

"Thank you," she smiled at me and threw a look at her brothers.

Suddenly I saw an all to familiar face come out of the crowd of the shop and toward the love potions. As soon as he caught my eye, a smile went across his face. It was Andrew Kirke. Last year during my time filling in the position for Beater on the Quidditch team after Fred, George, and Harry were kicked off, I had the misfortune of sharing my time with Andrew. If it hadn't been for his constant flirtatious attempts with me or always mocking Ron's abilities on the field, he might have actually been a decent person. Of course, that was a big "might" because he seemed to be an arrogant ass for all I was concerned.

"Emily Potter," Andrew said. "I didn't think I would be seeing you here."

"Nice to see you too Andrew," I said without even bothering to sound convincing. "Why wouldn't you expect to see me here - this is my boyfriend's shop."

"Oh, I wasn't aware that you two were still dating," he said. "Is there a reason that you're standing next to the Love Potions?"

"Oh, perhaps you are interesting in buying some," George spoke up. "After all, that'll probably be the only way that you'll ever get a girl."

"Excuse me?" Andrew asked.

"Stay away from my girlfriend, understand?" George said. "She's not interested in you."

"Sure," Andrew said. "But who is going to stop me once we're at Hogwarts, huh? She's going to get awfully lonely there without you and she just might have to find a real man to take your place."

"If I needed a real man, then what makes you think I would be coming to you?" I snorted.

"Ask yourself that again when your boyfriend isn't around anymore," Andrew said as he walked away.

George's face went red and Fred awkwardly stared around at us all.

"I hate that guy," George said.

"Don't worry about him," Fred said. "It's not like he's an actual threat anyway."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Harry said. "You don't have to worry about anything."

"Excuse you," I said in my defense. "I'm not a helpless child - I can watch after myself. Besides, I hate the guy anyway, so it doesn't even matter."

"Yeah, I know…" George said as he grabbed onto my hand and held me a little closer than usual.

"Let's go find Mum," Fred said. "I'm sure that she'll be mad if we don't talk to her while she's here."

It took us a bit to find her through the crowd of people, but when we did Ginny immediately began asking about the Pygmy Puff and if she could have it.

"I don't know…" Mrs. Weasley said. "Are they safe?"

"Does it look dangerous?" Fred asked.

"Well…I suppose not," she said while still looking a little off.

"Here, we'll take you over to look at the display," George said to her. "We have a pamphlet telling you what all you're going to need to take care of them."

"We'll be right back," Fred called back to us. "Just look around some."

I shrugged my shoulders and started to pick through some of the things that were lying around. The one thing that caught my eye were some of the Dark Mark candies. Apparently they were very good at making people sick which made me question why anyone would actually want to buy them, but I guessed that it was more of a joke than anything else.

As I was looking through some of the Skiving Snackboxes, Harry caught my attention as he was staring out of the window nearby with a curious look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked Harry.

"It's Malfoy, he just passed by the place," Harry said. "He looked like he was up to something - I think we need to see what he's doing out there."

"Since when do you care what Draco is doing?" I asked.

"Because he has to be up to something," Ron interjected as he stepped over toward us. "There's no way that his mum would let him out of her sight when we saw him earlier."

"Maybe they just went their separate ways to shop faster," I suggested innocently.

"Emily, can you just trust us for once?" Ron sighed. "Malfoy was acting stranger than usual in the shop with his mum and we really think that he's up to something."

"He was," Hermione said as she walked up next to me. "Even for Malfoy he seemed to be a bit off."

I sighed and decided to actually listen to them. For all I knew, they were really on to something, but it was hard to say. It was true that something was up with Draco because when I saw him he seemed to be acting more unusual than normal and it did seem a bit suspicious of him. To be honest, he might very well be doing something that he wasn't supposed to be doing and it couldn't really hurt to check and see what he was doing.

"Okay, everyone get under the cloak," Harry said as he pulled out the Invisibility Cloak from his bag.

"Just wondering - do you carry that around everywhere?" I asked curiously.

"Er...not really - actually yes, I kind of do," Harry mumbled. "Just get under the cloak, would you?"

"We can't all fit under there Harry," Hermione said.

"You three can go underneath it - I'll just grab a regular cloak to hid myself," I said.

"I don't know," Ron said. "Maybe you should be the one underneath - "

"Just get under the damn thing," I insisted. "You trip me every time I'm under it anyway."

"I told you I was sorry about that," Ron said sheepishly.

"Doesn't change the fact that it could happen again," I said as I pulled out a black cloak from my bag.

I threw the cloak around myself quickly and put up the hood so it would cover my hair and some of my face. Because I was short enough it would be easy for me to just look down as I walked so people couldn't see my face through the large hood.

"Good?" I asked them.

"Well...you'll definitely fit in with the people in Knockturn Alley," Ron said. "You look creepy just like them..."

"Thanks a lot," I muttered. "Now let's to before we lose him."

I quickly stepped through the door of the shop and tried to blend in with the people that were rushing through the streets. Although I couldn't see them, I knew that the three others were quickly following behind me and probably doing their best to not run into anyone that came by. As we entered Knockturn Alley, I tugged at my hood nervously and tried to conceal as much as my face as I could without losing track of the blonde-haired boy that was far ahead of me.

The streets here were as vacant as Diagon Alley had been when we arrived in the morning. Although there weren't many people here, I could tell by the looks of the crazed witches who walked by me and were talking to themselves that this place was not somewhere that I wanted to be. Feeling as though they would be caught, I made sure to slow down my pace to make sure that the others footsteps couldn't be heard.

"He's going into Borgin and Burkes," Harry whispered behind me. "Just up there, do you see him?"

"Of course I see him," I said.

I gained a look from a twitchy looking wizard that passed by me, but he probably figured that I was just another witch talking to herself. To be honest, I never thought that I would be happy thinking that was something normal.

When we reached the shop that Draco stepped into, I slowly came to a stop near the door and tried to appear as casual as I could as I leaned against the shop window and tried to listen to what was going on inside.

"I'll need to see the other one first, do you understand?" a man said.

"And how do you think that is going to happen?" Draco asked bitterly. "Do you think I'll just walk down Diagon Alley with it - don't be a fool, Borgin."

"Well, I can see what I can do," Borgin said. "But I cannot assure you of anything without seeing the other one."

There was a sudden clanging of coins of wood and I just went with the assumption that Draco had just put a load of Galleons on a table of some sorts.

"How about now?" Draco asked.

"Like I said, it will be difficult," Borgin said nervously. "But I'll try."

"No one can hear about this," Draco said. "Not a single person - I know people Borgin, don't you forget that."

"Is that a threat?" Borgin asked while sounding frightened.

"I'll let you decide that for yourself," Draco spat. "Now don't let anyone touch that or you'll have me to hear from."

I heard footsteps coming toward the door and myself and I quickly stepped off to the side and pulled my hood down some more. As I looked up from underneath my hood, I saw Draco walking out of the shop. When he saw me, a strange look went across his face.

"What are you looking at?" he spat.

"Mind your own business," I said while trying to change my voice so he wouldn't recognize it.

"Crazy bat," Draco muttered as he walked quickly away from me and the shop.

As soon as he was out of my sight, I looked around for some sign that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still there. However, I lost that thought as soon as I saw someone approaching me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when an old man in moth eaten robes walked up next to me with his eyes wide and staring directly at me. Even though I saw him coming, I still had the urge to take off running with him standing so close to me."What?" I asked angrily as I put my hand up my my chin to help hide my face more. "Do yer need some dragon's blood?" he croaked as he held out a vial. "All I need is twenty Galleons.""Why would I want dragon's blood?" I said while disguising my voice. "This stuff be rarer than hen's teeth," he said as he stepped uncomfortably close to me. I pulled my wand out of my robes and pointed it directly at the man'a chest, which was only inches from mine at this point. "Step any closer and I'll make sure that this whole street will be seeing blood," I said. "And I can assure you that it won't be blood from a dragon.""No need for that," he said nervously. "I'll just find somebody else that isn't a hag to buy this here vial.""Good then - off you go," I said.I watched him walk away and I quickly made a mental note to never come to Knockturn Alley ever again. Although it was refreshing knowing that there are people weirder than myself, it just didn't seem to be a place I could survive very long in.

I felt a tap on the shoulder indicating the others were beside me, so I decided that I would start making my way back toward Diagon Alley where we could talk properly.

"People here are psychotic," I could hear Ron whispering. "Anyway - what do you think Malfoy was doing in there."

"No idea," Harry whispered back. "It sounded like he was trying to get something fixed, but I couldn't understand what it was that he wanted."

"You all seriously need to work on your whispering," I said under my breath. "You aren't exactly being quiet."

"At least we don't look like we're talking to ourselves," I heard Ron said. "Wait - where's Hermione?"

"What?" I asked as I stopped in my tracks.

Without even thinking about my surrounding and the people in it, I stumbled off a bit when a man ran directly into me because of my abrupt stop. His pointed, old hat fell off his head and he threw me a look with his unusually large eyes as he scraped it up off the ground.

"Watch where you're going," the man said irritably.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered as he walked off. "What do you mean, 'where's Hermione?"

"She's not here," Harry said.

"I gathered that much," I sighed. "How did you not notice her getting away?"

"Maybe she snuck out when that lunatic came up to you," Harry suggested. "Let's go back to see if she's still back there."

We quickly walked back toward Borgin and Burkes where we found her walking out of the shop with a frightened look on her face. When she saw me, she walked faster so she could catch up and checked to see if anyone was looking before she motioned for Harry and Ron to put the Invisibility Cloak back over her.

"What the hell was that about, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"I had to go see something," Hermione said in a panic. "I wanted to figure out what Malfoy was talking about."

"So you went into the shop yourself?" I asked quietly as we walked past a group of wizards that were muttering incoherently. "Are you insane?"

"Did you figure anything out while you were there?" Harry asked.

"Not really," Hermione sighed quietly. "I just asked about a few things, but it didn't give me any ideas about what Malfoy was talking about."

We all went quiet when we got back into the central part of Diagon Alley. I pulled down my hood and quickly walked toward Weasley Wizard Wheezes and tried to blend back into the crowd. Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared behind me with Harry shoving the Invisibility Cloak back into his bag as we approached Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred, and George.

"Where did you all run off to?" George asked.

"What are you talking about - we've been here all along," Harry said.

"Well I certainly couldn't find you," Mrs. Weasley said as she looked around at us with a suspicious look.

"Maybe you just couldn't see us in the crowd," I suggested.

George gave me the same look that his mother gave me before he seemed to have given up on trying to figure out where it was that we had been. Either way, I don't think there was much point in telling them anyway. It would only end up as a lecture from Mrs. Weasley about our personal safety.

The only thing I had my mind on after we said goodbye to Fred and George and left the shop was what Draco could have been doing in that shop. What ever it was, it couldn't have been good if he was willing to give Borgin an actual threat in order to keep what they were doing a secret.

I just didn't like that there was yet another thing that we weren't sure of.

* * *

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	8. Not a Single Interruption

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 8**

"There is no way that Draco Malfoy is a Death Eater," Hermione said to Harry.

"The evidence is all there," Harry said. "Did you not see the way he acted in the robe shop - he got really mad when they touched his arm and that's probably because he just had the Dark Mark - "

"Harry, that is completely ridiculous," I said. "How could you possibly come up with that assumption based on just that?"

This conversation hadn't seemed to end since the day we followed him in Diagon Alley and, even though it was hard to believe, Hermione and I found ourselves defending Draco over Harry. Of course if Harry would have had some reasonable evidence, I might have believed him - but that was hardly the case. So here we were in Ron's room once again talking through the possibility with only days left until we were going to be heading back to Hogwarts.

"That was not the only reason," Harry said. "Every one of us knows that he was up to something when we saw him and I am convinced that it has something to do with Voldemort - you know his father is in prison, so he's probably just taking on the family business!"

"It wouldn't be that surprising," Ron said as he sat back in his chair. "Malfoy's always been a little creep."

"Yeah, but he's never had the nerve to back up anything that he says," I said. "He's all talk - you have to admit that it's hard to imagine Draco Malfoy doing Voldemort's dirty work."

"You have a point," Ron shrugged. "But I'm still siding with Harry on this one."

"There's no talking any sense into them," Hermione sighed.

There was a knock on the door and Ginny came walking in with a scrunched up face that told me where she had been: with Fleur. When she closed the door and leaned up against it I could only hope that she hadn't been followed.

"What's she doing now?" Hermione asked.

"She's still going mad about the wedding," Ginny rolled her eyes. "She's been talking nonstop about how French stores are so much better than the ones we have here - if she likes them so much, then why doesn't she just go back!"

"Where's Bill?" Ron asked.

"He just got back to the house," Ginny said. "That's how I got away from her - I never thought I was going to escape..."

She walked across the room and sat down on the ground next to me and let out another sigh of relief. It's incredible the amount of time we all used up trying to get away from the bride from Hell...

"So..." Harry said casually. "You and Dean, eh?"

Ginny's head jerked over in Harry's direction and she raised an eyebrow.

"Er...yeah," Ginny said. "Why bring it up?"

"Just wondering how you two are doing," Harry nodded while his face began to go pink. "Been talking often?"

"Sure," Ginny said. "Writing letters when we can..."

"So you must really be looking forward to the school year to start," Harry said.

"I guess so..." Ginny said.

"Is he good to you?" Harry asked.

"We haven't exactly been talking that long," Ginny said. "But yes...you could say that."

"Good," Harry nodded.

Ron, Hermione, and I were all quietly looking back from Harry to Ginny in complete and utter bewilderment. Where had that come from? Harry didn't usually ask about Ginny and her relationships and that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Was I missing something here?

"So I'm going to go see if Fred and George are here yet," I said quickly.

When I stood up and quickly walked for the door, Hermione followed closely behind me. As soon as we hit the bottom of the stairs, she grabbed my arm to stop me.

"What was that?" she asked.

"With Harry?" I asked.

"Yes, what else?" she asked.

"How should I know?" I laughed. "Maybe it was something in his food this morning."

Hermione shook her head and gave me a look that told me that I just wasn't picking up on something.

"You don't think that Harry has feelings for Ginny, do you?" Hermione asked.

I blinked and then looked back up the stairs as if the answer was going to fly to me from there. That thought had never occurred to me and I couldn't believe that I hadn't even considered that. Ever since we'd been staying at the Burrow, Harry had been acting a little stranger whenever Ginny was in the room - was this just a coincidence or had he finally developed feelings for Ginny?

"Would that be bad?" I asked.

"Well...I guess not," Hermione said. "But Ginny's dating someone."

"And Harry is fully aware of that," I said. "We have that awkward conversation as evidence."

"Maybe you should ask him about it," Hermione suggested.

"And I'll go stick my head in an oven while I'm at it," I laughed and continued to walk down the hallway.

"No, you have to," Hermione begged.

"If you're so adamant on finding out what he's thinking, why don't you just ask him yourself?" I asked her. "I seriously doubt that he wants to talk about relationships with his sister - that's just awkward."

"Can't you just do it for me?" she continued. "At least ask him!"

I let out a sigh and then finally decided to give in. There was no way she would let this go anyway.

"Fine, but I'm blaming you if he gets mad," I said.

* * *

After I helped Mrs. Weasley clean up for dinner, I found myself sitting in Ron's room with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. While the two boys talked about this upcoming Quidditch season, Hermione and I talked about all the classes that we were going to take this next year at Hogwarts. It all seemed to be going normally until Hermione gave me this urgent look and then turned to Ron.

"Hey Ron - I think your mother called us," Hermione said suddenly.

"W-what?" Ron said looking dumbfounded. "I didn't hear anyone - "

"No, I promise you that she did," she said. "Come on, we don't want to keep her waiting.

It wasn't hard for me to figure out what this was about - she was intentionally trying to get me to talk to Harry about Ginny. It's kind of funny how Hermione is constantly wanting to know about everything and everyone, but at the same time I wasn't looking forward to this forced conversation.

She gave me one last look and then her and Ron were out of the door leaving an unsuspecting Harry and me.

"Did you hear Mrs. Weasley - ?" Harry started.

"No, she never called," I rolled my eyes. "Hermione's just trying to get me to talk to you."

Harry blinked in surprise and sat back against the bedpost.

"About what?" he asked.

"Well, it's about Ginny," I said slowly. "She seems to be thinking that you have feelings for her - and to be honest, I can't say that I disagree with her."

Harry's face went as red as a freshly picked tomato and I had to bite my lip so I wouldn't laugh at him.

"I don't know where you two got that idea," he said too quickly. "Ginny is Ron's sister and she's got a boyfriend anyway - "

"Harry, you don't have to explain yourself to me," I laughed. "Besides, Ginny is cool - I wouldn't mind seeing you two together. And who cares if she's Ron's sister? I'm dating his brother."

"It's not like it would matter anyway," Harry shrugged as his face went redder. "She's dating someone else - "

The door opened up and Harry's mouth dropped when he saw Ginny walking through the door. For a minute I found myself unable to speak thinking that she heard the conversation that we were just having, but luckily she seemed to be oblivious.

"Have either of you seen my shoes?" she asked. "I think that I might have left them in here - wait, what's wrong?"

Her expression suddenly got serious when she saw the look of horror fading from Harry's face.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly.

"What were you two talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing," Harry said.

Ginny narrowed her eyes and looked over at me with a questioning look. I smiled innocently and tried to come up with some sort of excuse in my head as quickly as I could.

"Emily?" Ginny asked as she crossed her arms.

"He was just telling me that he had a rash on his bum," I said without any thought.

"Emily!" Harry said.

"Never mind - I shouldn't have asked," Ginny said with a small laugh. "Here are my shoes - good luck with your bum."

She waved at us before stepping out of the door again. Instead of a look of relief on Harry's part, he threw me a look that practically cut through me.

"What?" I asked.

"That was the first thing that you could think of?" he asked irritably.

"It was better than what you came up with," I said defensively. "What did you want me to tell her?"

"Not that I have a rash on my bum!" he said.

Just at that moment Hermione and an irritated looking Ron walked into the room and, judging by the looks on their faces, they had just heard what my brother had said.

"That was more than I wanted to know," Ron said as he sat down in a chair.

"I don't have a rash - " Harry started.

"Okay Harry, we've heard enough about your bum," I smirked.

Hermione gave me a quizzical look, probably wondering if I had spoken to him about what she wanted me to. I guess that she was just going to have to wait and figure that one out later.

* * *

The next day Fred and George came over for dinner to celebrate the end of our holiday. It was a bitter sweet time because I knew that today was going to be the last day I would see George for a long time and the thought struck me every time I looked his way, but I tried my best to keep my emotions together as we all sat around the table.

"I just love it ven ve 'ave ze family over for dinner," Fleur said happily.

Thanks, but it's not really the whole family," Fred said as he buttered a piece of bread. "Charlie isn't here, you know?"

"Yes, I know that," Fleur said. "But yoo know vat I mean. So, how iz work going?"

"Great," George said. "Everyone is stocking up on our products now that the school year is about to start."

"So yoo are making a lot of money?" she asked.

"You could say that," George shrugged.

"Vonderful!" Fleur said excitably. "That means zat you should be nearly ready to have a wife. 'Ave you asked Amiliee yet?"

George suddenly started choking on the bread that he stuck in his mouth. Fred hit his back a few times before George caught his breath again and then he looked right at Fleur like she had lost her mind.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Surely you vant to marry her," Fleur said. "She is beautiful, successful, and you have been dating a long time."

"It hasn't even been two years yet," Mrs. Weasley said before George had a chance to answer. "And Emily is far too young for that - she's still in school!"

"What iz your point?" Fleur asked. "Zat does not mean zat the boy cannot ask!"

"Fleur, this isn't really something we should be talking about," I interjected.

"Are yoo saying zat you vould say no if he asked you?" Fleur said.

"That isn't what I'm saying," I said. "My point is that I am sixteen years old - and this is not the place for this discussion!"

"Why not?" Fleur said.

My eyes flickered over to Mrs. Weasley's scornful expression and I had the idea that she was thinking the same thing as I was. After a few moments of silence where Fleur continued to look at me expectantly, Mr. Weasley suddenly spoke up.

"So are you boys going to spend the night over here?" he asked to change the subject.

"The shop is going to be open tomorrow morning, so I was going to spend the night over there," Fred said. "I think George said something about spending the night here so he could see you all off tomorrow morning."

"That would be lovely," Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Harry, would you mind staying in Ron's room while George is here?"

"He doesn't have to," George said. "I wouldn't mind sharing."

"No, that's fine," Harry said. "I can stay in Ron's room - we need to get up a little earlier than you anyway."

"Okay then, it's settled," Mr. Weasley said. "Now I suppose that we should get an early start to bed so we aren't late to the train tomorrow."

"Not like going to bed earlier would change that," Ginny said. "We're nearly late every year."

* * *

After what seemed like ages of tossing and turning in my bed, I finally came to the conclusion that I was not going to be able to sleep at all tonight. I wasn't sure if it was the excitement of heading of to Hogwarts tomorrow or the dread that was creeping up on me that I wouldn't be seeing George until our Christmas holidays.

I looked at the clock that was sitting next to Ginny and saw that it was two-thirty in the morning before I checked to make sure that both Ginny and Hermione were asleep. They were both steadily breathing and I decided that I would be safe to get up and move without being questioned.

I slowly walked toward the door, wondering all the while if I was mad for what I was doing, before I began to slowly make my way into the hallway. Very steadily, I made sure to close the door behind me and silently thanked god that it didn't creak behind itself. I looked around the dark hallway and everything seemed to be at a standstill. I silently began to walk up the stairs and made sure that they didn't creak before I found myself standing on the second floor of the house and directly in front of George's room.

My head turned a few times to make sure that no one heard me before I let out a deep breath and opened up the door to my boyfriend's room.

"George?" I whispered.

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the darkness in his room before I saw his figure moving around in his bed. He squinted toward the door before sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"It's me - Emily," I said.

"Oh - what's wrong?" he asked suddenly looking worried as he turned on the lights.

"Nothing, I'm fine," I said as I stepped into his room and closed the door behind me. "I just can't sleep."

"Is something bothering you?" he asked as I sat down next to him on his bed.

I shrugged as he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me over to him. When I looked into his sleepy and confused eyes, I felt like I was going to cry - this could very well be the last moments that I was going to be spending with him.

"What is it?" he asked as he pulled me into a hug. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"No, I told you that I wasn't sleeping," I said. "I was just thinking about a lot of things..."

"Such as?" he asked.

I let out a sigh and hugged him tightly back and feeling an ache in my stomach that just didn't seem to want to go away.

"George, I'm going to miss you," I said in a barely audible tone.

"Oh Emily - it's not like you won't see me again," he said. "I'll come by as often as I can - I'll write every day if you want me to."

"Writing every day would be exhausting," I said with a small laugh.

"You know what I mean though," he smiled.

He held onto my hand and I looked up at him feeling my heart clench as I thought of having to go to Hogwarts without him. I know that I hadn't been seeing him as often as I wanted to this summer, but I still couldn't bear the thought of going through an entire school year without him by my side.

Bearing all of this in mind, I ran my hand through his hair and pulled his head down to mine until our lips met. He wrapped his arm around me until we were in a tight embrace and I never wanted to let him go - I didn't want this to end. When I leaned him back to where I was lying on top of him, I could hear a hitch in his breath as I deepened the kiss and my heart began to race knowing what we were about to do.

And for once, we went and entire night without a single interruption.

* * *

When I woke up, it took me a moment to realize that I was still lying in George's bed. My mind suddenly began to race as I thought of something that I hadn't when I had fallen asleep in his arms earlier that morning.

"Emily - I think my mum is coming here," George said as he suddenly sat up in the bed next to me.

In that moment, it would have been very difficult for anyone to tell that I was only running on a couple hours of sleep when I sprang up from the bed.

"Where are my clothes?" I asked in a panic.

"Right here!" George said as he tossed over my nightgown.

I caught it in the air and pulled it over my head within seconds. As soon as George pulled his shirt over his head, I began to hear a creak in the floorboards and Mrs. Weasley's voice break the silence of the morning.

"WE NEED TO GET MOVING!" she shouted. "WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR THE TRAIN!"

She knocked on the door to George's room and I immediately flew to the opposite side of the door. When it opened, I could have sworn my heart stopped as I hid on the other side of the door so she couldn't see me. My hand flew to my mouth and my eyes were just about as wide as George's as he looked as his mother.

"Oh good - you're up," Mrs. Weasley said. "Get dressed - your father needs help getting the luggage into the car."

When she closed the door, George's eyes flew over to mine and I could hardly find my breath as he walked over to me with that worried expression that he had when I came into his room earlier that morning.

"I think that I need to get out of hear before she comes back in," I said with my heart still racing a mile a minute.

"Or have someone else come in here," George said while looking at the door.

"Okay - I'll see you later," I said quickly.

He kissed me quickly and I felt my cheeks redden as I thought of what happened only hours ago. Once he let go of me, I smiled at him before I quickly made my way out of the room. I flew down the steps and directly towards Ginny's room where I unintentionally burst through the door.

"Way to knock - oh, it's you," Ginny said.

They were both already getting dressed and throwing things into their suitcases when I walked in. I held my breath, just hoping that they wouldn't question why I wasn't there when they woke up. I nearly made it to my suitcase before Hermione spoke up.

"Where were you?" she asked with a suspicious look on her face.

"In the bathroom," I said a little too quickly.

Hermione raised her eyebrow and I just tried to smile convincingly, but I knew that I was going red in the face - something that wasn't making my lie any more convincing. Regardless of whether she believed me or not, she continued to pack her things without another word.

It only took me about ten minutes before I was dressed and ready to walk out of the door. When Ginny, Hermione, and I walked into the living room we found Harry and Ron already handing their things off to George to be taken out to the car. When George caught sight of me, he gave me a big smile that I returned without hesitation.

However, my smile went away when Hermione through me another suspicious look that told me that she knew that something was up - but how? Were we really that obvious? I guess that my lying about where I was only succeeded in making her look at every little thing that I did.

"Okay - that's all," Mr. Weasley said cheerfully. "Are we ready to get this show on the road?"

"What?" Ron asked.

"It's an expression that Muggles use," Mr. Weasley said proudly. "Right Harry?"

"Sure," Harry nodded.

After an awkward silence between us all, we all began to make our way out to the car after we managed to shovel down some food for breakfast. Luckily for us, Mr. Weasley still had access to the Ministry vehicles that he expanded out so we were all able to fit somewhat comfortably into the car. I ended up sitting toward the middle of the back seat with George on one side of me and Ron on the other.

"Good morning everyone," George said happily as he sipped on some coffee. "Everyone have a good night - I know I certainly did."

His eyes flickered toward me and I wanted to roll my eyes, but resisted the urge.

"What are you so cheerful about?" Ron asked. "Happy to have us out of your hair, are you?"

"Naturally," George nodded.

"That and I'm sure he got an excellent night's sleep knowing that this was going to be the first year that he didn't have to rush of to catch the train," Harry said.

"Actually, I didn't get much sleep at all," George said. "Maybe it's just the coffee this morning...or maybe it's something else..."

He laced his hand through mine and I couldn't help but have a huge grin on my face at this point. It was just impossible to be angry with him when he was like this - even when he was being very obvious about what happened last night right in front of my brother. But, luckily enough, Harry and everyone else seemed to be oblivious to what George was talking about.

"You're a freak," Ginny laughed. "Anyway - what happened to not being late this morning dad?"

"We aren't late yet!" Mr. Weasley said from the driver's seat. "We still have about fifteen minutes to spare."

"I guess that's better time than last year," Ginny shrugged.

When the car finally came to a stop, Mr. Weasley and George helped unpack the car and hand out all the luggage to the ones that we going to be heading off to school. Once we were all ready, we made a mad scramble into King's Cross now that we realized that there was a little less than ten minutes that we had left.

When we stepped through the wall leading to Platform 9 3/4, I saw the Hogwarts Express sitting in the same spot that it did when I came here when I was just eleven years old. And just like then, we were running late and people were running through the place like it was a mad house.

"Okay - everyone have a wonderful year!" Mrs. Weasley said.

She made her way around to each of us and gave us all a kiss on the forehead and looked just as worried as she always did when we all had to go. I guess it was just something with mothers that they never wanted to see their children go no matter how old they would get.

"Make sure to write if you have any problems with anything, you hear me?" Mrs. Weasley said to us all.

"We will," Harry said. "Though I doubt that anything could be worse than last year..."

"Don't jinx it," Hermione said. "Things could go well."

"In what world?" Ron scoffed.

Hermione shrugged and we all laughed as the train's whistle went of signaling that everyone needed to hurry up and get in.

George smiled at me and gave me a long kiss before handing Hoot's cage to me.

"Have a good year - make sure to write to me," George said.

"You know that I will," I said as I kissed him again. "I love you, George."

"I love you too," he said as he kissed me again.

"Ugh - please stop before I gag," Ron said. "We need to go!"

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll see you all during the holidays!"

Before I had a chance to linger around for a moment longer, I was practically dragged towards the train. I was the last person to step through the doors and when they closed behind me, I looked out the window and watched as Mrs. Weasley and George chased after the train as it began to leave the station. My heart began to have that same familiar ache as they went out of view and all I could do was wait for the holidays to come around so I could come back home.

* * *

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	9. An Unexpected Occurrence

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 9**

"Okay, so where are we going to sit?" I asked everyone.

Hermione and Ron looked at one another with a guilty look on their faces and began to shift around uncomfortably.

"We have to go to the prefects carriage, remember?" Hermione said. "But we'll come by as soon as we can."

"Oh, right," Harry said awkwardly. "I forgot about that...have fun, I guess."

They both looked back at us sympathetically, but they slowly began to make their way through the aisle towards their designated spot. Harry started to say something else, but when he noticed Ginny walking away from us with Dean, he seemed to have lost his words and went red in the face.

"You can't be mad with her Harry," I said as I put my hand on his shoulder. "She was mad about you for years and she just couldn't wait around until yourself the same."

"Where do you want to sit?" he asked without taking his eyes off of Ginny and Dean as they walked into a compartment.

"Maybe we could sit with Luna and Neville like we did last year," I suggested.

He shrugged his shoulders saying that he wouldn't mind that and we began to pull our luggage behind us as we looked around for where they would be sitting. We nearly got to the back and, just when I thought we missed them, I found them both sitting in a compartment in silence.

"Mind if we sit here?" I asked Neville after I tapped on the door.

"Do you really need to ask that?" Neville asked with a grin.

We stepped into the compartment and Neville helped me get my things into the luggage rack before Harry and I settled on opposite sides of one another - him sitting next to Luna while I sat with Neville - and it wasn't until then that Luna decided to look up from the article in the Quibbler she was reading.

"Hello," she said looking a bit dazed.

"Hey," I smiled. "How was your summer?"

"Lovely," Luna said looking out of the window. "Father has been very busy with the Quibbler - it's gotten really popular, you know?"

As Harry responded to Luna, I found myself looking at our door where three giggling girls were standing with pink faces and big smiles. I raised an eyebrow and looked around in my compartment for a moment hoping that they would go away.

"Excuse me," one of the girls said. "My name is Romilda Vane."

"Er…hello," I said.

Romilda's smile faded away when she looked at me and she narrowed her eyes. For a moment, she paused with this dull face expression on my behalf before smiling back at my brother.

"So Harry, I heard about what you did in the paper," she said cheerfully. "And I was wondering if you could come to my compartment and maybe we could get to know each other a little better. After all, this compartment seems to be a bit crowded."

Luna seemed to have lost interest at this point and returned to her Quibbler, but Neville and I looked at one another in disbelief at this girl. Not only was she making a point to exclude everyone except Harry from the conversation, but she was trying to get him to leave with her. And, I guess this was beside the point, but there was plenty of room left in our compartment.

"Actually I think I'll be fine sitting here with my friends," Harry said awkwardly. "But thanks for the offer."

Her smile immediately turned to a look of complete disbelief as she looked around at all of us in disgust.

"Fine," she said. "But come by whenever you like - we wouldn't mind the extra company."

She gave Harry a wink and then walked out of our compartment with her two friends who never walked over to introduce themselves. I had never met this Ramilda girl before, but I already didn't like her.

"What was that about?" I asked. "Have you ever spoken to her before Harry?"

"No, I've never even seen her," he admitted.

"Well, I'm sure it won't be the first girl that comes your way after what they've gone and put in the papers," I rolled my eyes. "But did you see the way that she looked at us - it was like we were garbage!"

"She probably expects you to be sitting with more popular people," Luna said from behind her magazine.

"Who cares who is popular," Harry said. "You are my friends - and you all were there with me at the Ministry, so you should be getting the same attention."

"Thanks for that, Harry," Neville said. "But no one really cares about us. We weren't the ones that fought You-Know-Who."

"We really didn't fight him that much," I said. "It was mostly Dumbledore."

"Doesn't matter," Neville shrugged. "You're the Potters - people care more about you anyway. You should hear what Gran says about you two. She practically worships the ground you walk on."

"I'm sure that's not true," I said. "She must be proud of you for going to the Ministry with us."

"She doesn't act like it," Neville said. "She won't be happy with anything I do..."

He let out a sigh and looked out of the window. I looked over at Harry and he looked at our friend with sympathy. I felt so helpless not being able to make his situation any better, but it was hard for me to see him like that. He just never felt appreciated.

"Your gran has a lot to be proud of," I said. "You were brilliant in the Ministry this past year."

He shrugged and continued to look out of the window without even looking in my direction. I suddenly began to feel guilty - almost like I had stolen something from Neville just for being who I was. It's a horrible feeling really, and I did mean what I said to him. Neville really was a good guy and his gran should be happy. All in all, I felt like she was, but maybe she just had an odd way of showing it.

"I saw his shop, you know?" Luna said suddenly.

I nearly jumped in my seat because I had forgotten that she was even there with us because of how quiet she was.

"W-what?" I stammered in surprise.

"George's shop," Luna clarified. "It's lovely - father thinks so as well."

"Oh, I just saw it not that long ago," I said. "They're really proud of it."

"My father wrote an article about it in the Quibbler," Luna said. "I think that's why it's getting so much attention.

"Er...thanks," I said with an awkward smile.

Although I'm sure that many people read about Fred and George's shop in the Quibbler, I knew that it wasn't the only reason people were going there. The entirety of their final year in Hogwarts was spent advertising what they were going to be starting and it really made their creation popular.

"Oh there you are - I should have known that it was you all talking about the shop."

I looked out in the aisle to see Ron and Hermione stepping into our compartment. Harry scooted over so Ron could squeeze in and I did the same so Hermione could fit in.

"I really liked what they did with the place," Harry continued with our conversation.

"They should be more careful though - did you see the sign in the front of their shop?" Hermione added.

"I thought it was funny," Ron said with a smile.

"It's too dangerous," Hermione said with concern. "They shouldn't joke about Voldemort - he could come after them."

"I seriously doubt that You-Know-Who is worried about what Fred and George write about him in their joke shop," Ron snorted.

"It's in Diagon Alley," Hermione went on. "Voldemort is definitely going to notice something like that eventually."

Ron and Hermione bickered between each other for another couple minutes before we all lost interest in the conversation. Luna went back to reading the Quibbler while the rest of us yawned and looked around without focus. Finally, I decided that it was best to choose a new topic.

"So what's going on in the prefects compartment?" I interjected.

"Nothing really," Hermione shrugged. "Just going over the usual procedure."

"Malfoy wasn't there though," Ron said. "We saw him just a minute ago in his compartment - I guess he's given up."

"Really - which compartment?" Harry asked.

"Oh, come off it Harry," I sighed.

"I don't know what it is anyway," Ron shrugged. "Didn't really pay that much attention..."

Just as Harry opened his mouth to ask something else, a girl showed up at our door. I didn't know her name, but I recognized her as a second year with a particularly red face.

"Hello," I welcomed her. "Can we help you?"

"You're Emil-" she started and then stopped speaking at once.

All of us looked at each other in confusion before the girl just thrusted three envelopes in front of us. They were addressed to Harry, Neville, and me. When we took them, I immediately opened it up to see what it was.

_Emily,_

_I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C._

_Sincerely,_

_-Professor H.E.F. Slughorn_

"What's he invited us for?" I asked the girl.

"I-I don't know," she stammered. "I just had to d-deliver the message."

Her face went redder and she quickly walked away without another word. It was like first year all over again with the way people looked at us and I didn't like it any more now than I did then. It was just plain awkward.

"Well, I suppose we should go," Harry shrugged.

We waved to Ron, Hermione, and Luna before taking off in the aisle towards Slughorn's carriage. I didn't understand what exactly it was, but I had a funny feeling that it was going to be awful.

"Didn't you say that this guy was really strange?" Neville asked me.

"Slughorn?" I asked. "Yeah, he seems like he's lost all his marbles if you ask me."

"So what do you reckon he wants with me?" he asked. "I thought you said he only takes an interest in people who were famous."

"I don't know what he wants with any of us Neville - Harry, what are you doing?" I said.

Harry, who was walking slowly behind us, had been jerking his head around continuously as we walked down the aisle as if he was searching for something. What was his deal - was he looking for Ginny again?

"I'm seeing if I can find Malfoy," he said quietly. "Maybe get an idea of what he's up to."

"Well knock it off," I scolded. "You look like a nutter."

"Fine," he sighed. "I guess I wouldn't really get much information at this point anyway."

We walked for a couple more seconds before we found the designated compartment that Slughorn invited us to. As soon as we stepped in, I noticed that we were not the only three people that were invited to this - the compartment was filled with some other people I recognized along with Slughorn who took up a significant amount of the room that was left over.

"Ah - the Potters!" Slughorn said excitably. "It's been too long!"

He shook Harry's hand with great enthusiasm and then pulled me into a rib-crushing hug that made it look like we were the best of friends. This all seemed so confusing given that the last time we saw this man he was so twitchy and irritable with us for having to take the job at Hogwarts.

"And there's Mr. Longbottom!" Slughorn said happily. "How are you doing, son?"

"Er - fine," Neville said awkwardly as he shook the man's hand.

"Have you two met?" I asked him as we looked for a seat.

"Never seen the guy," Neville said as he took a seat with Harry and me.

After a long moment of awkward silence where Slughorn looked around at everyone with a big smile on his face, he finally started to speak up. As soon as he did, I knew that I would have rather stayed with the Dursleys than spend this time with our newest professor.

"Welcome all - I'm sure we all know each other well," Slughorn nodded enthusiastically.

"Sure..." we all murmured as we looked around at each other.

To be honest, I hardly recognized half the people there, but I knew that they all recognized my brother and me when all of their eyes suddenly stuck to us. I shifted around uncomfortably and Ginny, who I just noticed a few seats to my left, gave us an uncomfortable look.

"I assume that we all had a wonderful summer?" Slughorn added. "Mister and Miss Potter - we've all heard so much about yours, what's it like being called the Chosen Ones and whatnot?"

Harry's eyes flickered over to mine and I felt like I wanted to crawl into a hold and never come back out. If I knew that this was what Slughorn was planning I would have stayed back in my own compartment.

As Slughorn began to introduce everyone, I began to recognize the others from some classes I had taken. Other than the three of us that had just walked in, there was Blaise Zabini, Cormac McLaggen, Marcus Belby, and Ginny Weasley sitting around the table.

"I'm sure all of you know the Potter twins," Slughorn said with a big smile as he came around to us. "Although you may recognize them more as the ones that are being called the Chosen Pair."

I felt my face go red as everyone's eyes rested on us once more. Other than Zabini, who looked completely disgusted by our presence, everyone seemed to look either curious or confused by us.

"Er...I suppose so..." Harry murmured.

"That's only what the media is calling them," Ginny spoke up. "It's rubbish if you ask me - they have no reason to call them that anyway."

"Well, from what I hear it's very possible that they are the Chosen Pair," Slughorn said. "I'm sure you all heard what happened at the Ministry earlier this year - an incredible triumph if you ask me."

"We hardly did anything," I said. "And we weren't the only ones there - Neville and Ginny went too -"

"Really?" Slughorn said looking impressed. "I did not realize this - did you see You-Know-Who as well?"

Neville and Ginny looked at each other skeptically before looking back at the professor that had invited us all there. Neither of them looked like they wanted to answer him, but I was only thinking about how good it was to not have the spotlight on us for once.

"Sort of..." Neville muttered. "It was only for a moment really..."

"Not many can say they saw him and got away, Mr. Longbottom," Slughorn responded. "I'm sure you of all people understand this."

Neville's face flushed and I suddenly grew angry with this man. How did he have any right to just tell everyone Neville's business - or anyone else business for that matter. As we all finished up our lunch and Slughorn spoke to each individual, I suddenly realized why we were all there. Dumbledore had told us before that Slughorn liked to be in the company of people that were important and each one of these people either knew someone important or were important themselves. So we were only being drug into this situation because Slughorn wanted to make himself feel important - isn't that just great?

When we were released from the room, I let out a sigh of relief. However, that was soon lost when Harry began to pull out a familiar looking cloak from the bag he was carrying.

"What are you doing?" I asked him suspiciously.

"I'm going to see what Malfoy is up to," he said. "I'll see you at the castle."

"Harry - stop," I demanded. "Even if there is something going on with him it isn't worth going through all this trouble to figure out what it is."

"I have to know Emily," he insisted as he threw the cloak around himself and disappeared from sight. "Just go back to the compartment."

"Fine, but if you get caught, don't come crying back to me," I muttered. "Come on Neville."

When we reached the compartment, Ron and Hermione seemed to be making a sad attempt to keep a conversation going with Luna. As usual, it didn't seem to be going in the direction that they hoped for.

"Luna - I've told you that their existence hasn't been proven," Hermione insisted irritably.

"It hasn't been disproven either," Luna said. "If you only believe in what we have learned, then you have much to learn yourself."

"Hello," I said loudly as we stepped into the compartment.

Hermione looked at us and relief seemed to have spread across her face. Ron looked slightly amused at the conversation, but I could imagine that he was happy that he wouldn't have to put up with their bickering now that we returned from our meeting with Slughorn.

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked when he didn't see him following us.

"He went looking for Draco," I said quietly with an eye roll. "I told him not to, but he insisted."

"I don't understand his obsession with finding out if he's a Death Eater," Hermione said.

"So what did Slughorn want?" Ron asked in attempt to change the subject.

"It was just some idiotic meeting," I rolled my eyes. "You should be glad that he didn't have you all come - it was really horrible."

"He kept going on and on about the famous people that we might know," Neville commented. "I just don't understand it."

"Well, Dumbledore said that he liked to surround himself with people of importance," I explained. "It makes him feel better about himself."

"I guess that explains why we weren't invited," Ron grumbled.

Everyone in the compartment went silent and I could practically feel the awkward in the area. Why did he have to go and say that - he knew that wasn't what I meant by that.

"Ron - I," I started.

"Don't worry about it," Ron shrugged. "I don't want to be around that git anyway."

For the rest of the ride, we talked about nothing in particular. Ron seemed to keep bringing up the subject of the different food that they might have at the feast which earned a roll of the eye from both Hermione and me.

When we finally reached Hogwarts, after we changed into our uniforms, I began to question where Harry had gone. I shrugged it off after a moment when I decided that he was probably just going to meet us in the castle so he wouldn't have to push through the crowd to find us.

"First years - first years over hear!" was the first thing that I heard as I stepped off the train.

A smile went across all of our faces when Hagrid caught our eye, but we only lingered in his gaze for a moment before we went off to get a carriage. All the way there, I searched the area to see if I could find Harry, but he was nowhere in sight. Maybe he got there earlier than I did...oh well, I was worrying too much.

The carriage ride went faster than I remembered and we quickly hustled out of them when we caught sight of the castle. It was just as I remembered and I felt a great sense of happiness as soon as my eyes found it. Even after all of these years, I still viewed this school as my home and I found it hard to believe that my time here was so limited now that I was entering my sixth year. I could hardly imagine ever leaving Hogwarts...

On the way in there, I found a smile go across my face when I saw Mr. Filch yelling at Peeves for throwing forks and spoons at the student's heads. I couldn't forget that Fred and George told Peeves to cause as much trouble as he could now that they were finished with their schooling and he seemed to be getting an early start on that this year.

When I stepped into the Great Hall, my eyes immediately flew around trying to figure out where Harry had run off to. When I caught sight of Draco in the back of the crowd, I suddenly got a sickening feeling that we wouldn't be seeing Harry for a while. Without even bothering to tell the others what I was doing, I made a b-line for Draco who was now making his way to the Slytherin table.

"Draco!" I called as I pushed through a crowd of second-years.

His head turned to look at me, but he continued to walk toward his table with a scowl on his face. I blinked once in confusion before I pushed through a few more people to get to him.

"Hey - I'm talking to you!" I said to Draco as I caught up with him.

"What do you want?" he asked irritably.

"Have you seen Harry?" I asked.

"Why would you think I would know where he is?" he scoffed. "I don't associate with filth like him."

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

He practically rolled his eyes as he stepped passed me to sit down with the rest of the Slytherin class and I just let out a sigh and went to go find Ron, Hermione, and Neville who had already found their spot at the table.

"What were you talking to Malfoy for?" Ron asked.

"I wanted to know if he had seen Harry," I answered.

"You think that he caught Harry spying on him?" Hermione inquired.

"Well, it's a possibility," I shrugged. "It would explain why we haven't seen him yet."

I glanced around the room again to see if I could find him, but there was no sign of him anywhere and everyone had already found their seats. When the room went quiet and the first years began to march in behind Professor McGonagall, I seriously began to worry.

With each name called out and each person sorted, I became even more anxious and wondered if I should go looking for my brother myself. I looked over at Ron and Hermione and they seemed to be thinking the same thing, but there was nothing that we could do until the sorting was finished.

"Maybe he just got caught up with something," Neville suggested.

"With what?" I asked sounding desperate. "Everyone is in here and he didn't even mention anything before!"

"Just try to stay calm," Neville breathed. "Maybe you could talk to Dumbledore about it afterwards - I'm sure if anything came up he would know."

"Thinking about teachers - where is Snape?" Ron asked quietly. "I haven't seen him since we walked in here."

My eyes suddenly began searching for him at the head table, but he was nowhere to be seen. To be honest, I was surprised I hadn't noticed his absence before - he was usually the first person I noticed in the Great Hall on the first day back to Hogwarts.

"That's strange," Hermione said. "He's usually here..."

"Maybe he quit," Ron laughed quietly. "I would too if I knew that Slughorn was the one that was taking my job..."

"I seriously doubt that he quit," I scowled at Ron. "He's gone through years of this and it's never discouraged him - he'll probably turn up sooner or later."

Once the Sorting was over, Dumbledore stood up to give his usual speech to start off the feast. Once he was finished, he waved his wand and food appeared at our fingertips. Without a moments hesitation, Ron grabbed everything that was in arms reach.

"You're a pig, Ronald," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Don't judge me," Ron muttered under his breath.

We all shook our heads, but I immediately found my attention elsewhere when I saw Harry walking into the room followed by an irritable man that I had been looking for only moments ago. Although Snape's appearance gave me some relief, it only lasted for a moment when I saw the blood that was going down Harry's face.

Without even a moment to comprehend what was going on, I found myself walking quickly over to my brother to see what was going on.

"Harry - are you okay?" I asked quickly. "Where have you been - I've been worried sick! You're bleeding - what happened - ?"

"Whoa Emily - one question at a time!" Harry said while trying to cover his bloodied face. "You're starting to sound like Mrs. Weasley."

"What do you expect - you're covered in blood," I said as I pulled out my wand from the pocket of my robes.

"What did you expect?" Snape scoffed. "It's practically his duty to make a grand entrance."

"Oh really?" I said as I narrowed my eyes at him. "And is it your duty to go looking for him?"

The smug look on his face dropped and he seemed unable to come up with an answer for once in his life. This was fairly surprising considering it wasn't even a decent retort. What was it about that comment that rendered him speechless? I didn't have a chance to say anything else to him because he was already making his way to the front of the room to meet with the rest of the staff.

"Look at me Harry - _Tergeo!" _I said.

At once, all the blood that was on his face disappeared. Harry blinked in surprise and began to feel around his nose to see if it was all gone. I held onto his other hand and pulled him toward the empty spot next to me so he cold join the rest of them.

"Where were you?" Ron asked Harry.

"In the train - Malfoy knew I was spying on him," Harry explained quietly. "Tonks found me, but Snape stopped us on our way into the castle."

"So he broke your nose?" I asked.

"Yes, but it's fixed now," Harry shrugged. "I'll explain later - Dumbledore's about to start his speech."

Just then I noticed our headmaster standing up at the front of the room with a smile on his face. He looked around at all of his students waiting patiently for them all to become silent. It only took a moment before everyone listened in.

"Welcome to you all..." Dumbledore started.

He continued on with his usual announcements at the start of the year, but my attention to them all was taken when I noticed something different about the old man. Hermione seemed to have noticed too when I heard her gasp behind me.

"His hand is blackened - what's happened to it?" she asked quietly.

"No idea, but it looks horrible," I grimaced. "Can't things like that normally be cured?"

"I would think so," Hermione said. "It must be really bad if nothing has been done about it."

There was a quiet murmur in the crowd, but Dumbledore spoke over them all and it came to a hush again.

"Finally, I would like to introduce our newest member of the Hogwarts staff," Dumbledore continued. "Horace Slughorn is going to be taking on the position as Potions Master while Severus Snape will gladly take the position for Defense Against the Dark Arts professor - "

"What?" I exclaimed.

Although my comment seemed to have been the loudest, I was not the only one that seemed to be shocked by this. Everyone in the school knew that Snape wanted that position for years, but no one - especially me - had expected him to actually achieve this.

"I believe that you heard me, Miss Potter," Dumbledore smiled at me. "I'm sure that you will find Professor Slughorn is very educated in potion making - you won't be disappointed."

My jaw was still hanging when Snape's smug look caught my eyes. I couldn't believe it - this was not what I wanted at all. Potions was my favorite subject and Snape was the only person that I ever thought would be teaching me. If this wasn't the biggest shock that I had gotten all day, then I didn't know what was.

"Okay, that is all for today," Dumbledore said over the crowd. "I am sure that you all are tired - off to bed!"

It took a moment for us all to digest what we had just heard before we all began to walk toward the door. Well, all except for me. Instead of walking with everyone else, I found myself walking directly toward my newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor - it was almost difficult for me to think of Snape with that title.

"Can I help you, Miss Potter?" Snape asked me with a cocky smile.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts?" I said in disbelief.

"That's right," Snape nodded.

"But why?" I asked hardly able to form those two words.

"It's what I wanted," Snape answered.

"But the position is cursed," I sputtered. "You can't - what if you-"

"That is no concern of yours, Miss Potter," Snape said bluntly. "Now off to your dormitory."

"Every person that's been in that spot hasn't made it out without something horrible happening to them," I said.

"And your point is?" Snape asked.

"My point is that you're putting yourself in danger by taking on this job," I said.

"It's kind of you to consider this," Snape muttered. "But this is my decision - not yours. Besides, you were under the assumption that Professor Slughorn was taking this position and you had no problem with that, did you?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He had a point. When we went to retrieve Slughorn, I hardly even considered the man's safety when he took on this teaching position. But it was somehow different now - I didn't want to see Snape, the man I had known for so many years, get hurt.

"That's what I thought," Snape said. "Now I have things I need to do before we start class tomorrow, so go to bed."

"Fine," I said in defeat. "Good night."

He nodded and then joined the crowd as they exited the room. I was still not happy about the situation, but there wasn't anything that I could do to change it.

...

It wasn't long before we all found ourselves sitting around the fire in the Gryffindor common room. At this point, most people were already in their beds asleep, but I just couldn't go to bed with so many things going on in my head.

Even though I felt very conflicted about everything, everyone else seemed to have mellowed out since the sun had gone down. Hermione looked like she was tossing some things around in her head, but I had a funny feeling that it wasn't the same thing as what I was thinking.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed," Harry yawned. "Goodnight everyone..."

"I'm going too," Ron added. "Goodnight Emily - goodnight Hermione."

We both smiled as they passed by us, but I had a feeling that I didn't want to be left alone with Hermione. She had a look in her eye every time she looked at me that made me feel that I was about to be attacked.

As soon as everyone got up the stairs, Hermione immediately gave me a stern look as she flipped the page of the book that she was pretending to read.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Nothing's wrong with me," Hermione said as she closed her book. "What about you though - anything new?"

Although the phrase seemed casual, the tone was the furthest thing from it. She was accusing me of something and she definitely wasn't happy about something. But what was it?

"Not particularly," I said hesitantly. "Other than what happened in the Great Hall today..."

"I'm not talking about that," Hermione said. "I want to know what happened between George and you - and don't even try to deny that something is up."

My face suddenly drained as I realized what she was talking about. I guess that George and I weren't as subtle as I was hoping we were.

"It's not really your business Hermione," I said.

"You had sex - didn't you?" she asked quietly.

I went silent and couldn't find the words to even try to deny the action. Not that there would have been any point because she would have known I was lying as soon as I spoke.

"This is a big deal, you know that?" Hermione said.

"People do it every day, Hermione," I said. "And it wasn't like we weren't being smart - we used protection."

"But you're only sixteen," she sighed.

"I know," I said while not meeting her eyes. "But why is that such a bad thing - it isn't like I committed a crime."

"I know," Hermione said. "I just thought you would have talked to me about it before you did it..."

"It isn't like we planned it," I said. "It just sort of happened."

"Fine, I'm just trying to say that you need to be careful..." Hermione murmured.

"I know," I said.

There was a moment of silence where Hermione put her book down on the table next to her before she looked back at me with a curious look in her eye.

"So...how was it?" she asked hesitantly.

My face immediately became hot and I felt like I wanted to run away.

"It was...nice," I said slowly. "Hermione, I really don't feel comfortable talking about it right now."

"No, no, that's fine," she said quickly. "I was just wondering, that's all."

She awkwardly picked at her nails and I suddenly found interest in every object in the room that was not around her. Anything to avoid eye contact really.

"Well, I'm tired," Hermione said suddenly as she stood up.

"Me too," I lied and put on a fake yawn.

We both walked quickly up the steps as I tried to put that conversation in the darkest part of my mind. It wasn't that I didn't trust Hermione enough to talk to her about such a private part of my life, but I just wasn't sure if I could talk about it with anyone yet - it was just a difficult thing to wrap my head around. To be honest, even though it was something that I had on my mind for the majority of the day, I could hardly get over the idea that I did it myself.

There were just too many things happening at once.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Sorry that I posted this so late, but I lost power for a couple of days and then I just got over the flu. Regardless, I am going to try to have the next chapter posted within the next week.**

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	10. Different Professors

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 10**

The morning seemed to come by in a flash without even an ounce of sleep. From pondering what went on with Harry and Draco, Snape's newest teaching position, and George and I moving our relationship to the next level, I just couldn't bring myself to sleep last night. Luckily I was able to get out of bed before Hermione so she couldn't raise any unwanted questions before I got to the Great Hall. As it happened so many times before, I was one of the first students having breakfast aside from a few first years in our house and the staff that was already having a dull conversation at the front of the room.

"Good morning, Miss Potter," Dumbledore said as he made his way to the front table. "You don't appear well rested, is there something troubling you?"

"There are a lot of things troubling me," I said. "But it's nothing too serious..."

Dumbledore's eyes flickered up to the teachers and then back to me. I could see a sparkle in his eye that told me that he knew at least one thing that was bothering me.

"I'm keeping a watchful eye on Professor Snape, you don't need to worry," he smiled. "I hear the chatter around the school, and I intend to break the usual tradition of the vanishing Defense Against the Dark Arts professors this year."

"Why didn't you tell us that Professor Slughorn was meant to be the new Potions Master?" I inquired.

"I should have known you would ask," Dumbledore sighed. "Maybe it was selfishness on my part. If we are being honest, would you have been as willing to invite Horace Slughorn to Hogwarts if you knew he was replacing Professor Snape's position?"

I thought about it for a moment and he had a very valid point. Slughorn was not exactly my ideal professor for my favorite subject and I think that we both knew that I wouldn't have wanted him to take over for Snape. Honestly, I hardly wanted him when I knew that he was going to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and that wasn't even my favorite subject.

"I believe I made the correct assumption on that subject," he smirked. "But you need not worry, Horace is very knowledgeable in his field and I am sure that he will not disappoint you."

I nodded as I looked up at the high table and saw the newest professor chatting away with Professor McGonagall who was smiling politely at her colleague. To be honest, I couldn't really find myself angry with this sudden change in the teaching positions - I just felt like I was lost.

As Dumbledore joined his colleagues, I watched as Draco Malfoy walked into the Great Hall and it made me wonder what Harry heard about him the day before. Was he really up to something or was he just acting strange just because he was bored or something. Seeing that he wasn't walking around with his usual gang of Slytherins, I found that this would be my best opportunity to approach him. It only took me a moment to catch up to him, but when I did, I noticed that he was a bit jumpy.

"Draco - what's wrong with you?" I asked as soon as I saw his terrified expression.

"Nothing - keep your nose out of my business, Potter," he scoffed.

He continued to walk and quickly found his seat at the nearly vacant table, but I knew that this wasn't how it was going to end. I wanted answers from him.

"What happened with Harry yesterday?" I asked him as I took a seat directly to his right.

"You mean to tell me that your idiotic brother hasn't filled you in?" he muttered. "Doesn't like to tell his darling sister about how much of a prick he is, does he?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he sneered. "Now why don't you go back to your own table - this conversation is over."

"But - " I started.

"What the hell is she doing here, Draco?" a voice came from behind me.

My eyes flickered back and I saw Pansy Parkinson standing there with a look of pure disgust as she looked down at where I was sitting.

"How is that any concern of yours, Parkinson?" I scoffed.

"It's _my_ table, Potter," she retorted. "So why don't you get lost before things get ugly."

"I hate to break it to you, but things got ugly as soon as you stepped into the room," I said. "So why don't you just go back to whatever hole you crawled out of?"

"Excuse me?" she said angrily.

"You heard what I said," I replied as I stood up to face her properly.

She pulled her fist back to hit me, but it was immediately stopped by Draco who had jumped from his seat to stop her before she could hit me.

"Pansy - go sit down," he ordered. "Potter - get the hell out of here."

"But - " I started.

"Don't you get it, Potter?" he said. "I don't want to talk to you - we aren't friends, so shove off."

He pushed me backwards and I ran into the table behind me. He glared at me for a moment and a sudden fury went through me that made me want to punch him into next month, but something stopped me. I don't know what it was, but there was this terrified look in his eyes that made him look like the small, innocent child that I met in our first year of school.

"Fine," I said, trying to pick up what little dignity I had left. "I'll go."

I walked away from his table and I could see some people watching us both as we stepped away from one another. I felt small, helpless in a way that I hadn't felt before. I wasn't exactly sure what it was that I had wanted to hear from Draco in the first place. Was it that I wanted to know what had caused him to injure my brother or did it have something to do with the odd behavior that we had been trying to interpret? Either way, I was left abandoned and without a single answer.

…

"Next!" Professor McGonagall called. "Miss Potter - you're next."

"Oh, right - sorry," I said.

I walked up to Professor McGonagall and she began to go through her notes. Today, before we started classes, our Head of the House was to look over the fifth years' schedule to make sure we all met the requirements for the classes that we signed up for. Most of the line had already been checked and were already off to class, but I had been too lost in thought to recognize that I was up next in line.

"Okay, you seem to be set on your classes," she nodded in approval as she looked over her notes. "Potions, Charms, Tranfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts…"

She continued to look over my schedule until she decided that it would be good enough for me to continue to class. Once she handed it back and nodded, I stepped off to the side to wait for Harry to join me on my way to class. After a lengthy conversation between Harry and Professor McGonagall, he finally stepped over to the side with me to wait for Ron to finish up.

"What was that about?" I asked him. "Was there something wrong with your schedule?"

"Not exactly," he shrugged. "It's just that she wants me to take Potions now."

"I thought you said that you didn't meet the requirements," I said.

"I didn't meet Snape's requirements," Harry corrected. "But I do meet the requirements to take Slughorn's class."

"That's excellent - now you can take all the classes you need to become an Auror," I said excitably.

"Yeah, but I didn't think I was taking Potions, so I don't have anything," he said.

"That's no problem," I shrugged. "You can borrow some of my ingredients - besides, I'm sure that Slughorn would understand once you explained to him what happened."

"I guess," Harry sighed. "What do you think of this Slughorn bloke anyway?"

"I'm not really sure yet," I said. "He seems a bit mad really, but it's hard to say at this point. Dumbledore says that he really knows his material, so I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"I just don't understand why Dumbledore wanted _him_ so badly for," he said. "He's a creep if you ask me - spends too much time trying to get involved where his nose doesn't belong."

"Maybe Dumbledore didn't have much of a choice," I suggested. "It isn't like people are jumping up to take a position at Hogwarts now that they've seen what's happened to the professors in the past."

"I guess so," Harry sighed.

It wasn't too much longer before Ron joined us to go off to our first class of the day - Defense Against the Dark Arts. I wasn't sure if I was really looking forward to this class knowing that Snape was teaching it now. It wasn't that I doubted that he was a good teacher, it was just that I wasn't sure how I felt about him suddenly dropping Potions class like that. It was common knowledge that his class was my favorite, but now I wasn't sure since we had this strange, new teacher coming along.

When I stepped into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, I wasn't surprised at all to see that the room had darkened up in a way that seemed to fit the man that stood in front of the classroom. Although this had been Snape's ambition to have this room for as long as I had known him, it just seemed strange that he was standing in front of us now prepared to teach it.

His eyes only lingered with me for a moment before he stared around the room with an expression that could only be described as victorious. This was the moment that he had been waiting for all along - this position was something that he could finally be proud of.

When everyone took a seat, Snape began to pace back and forth in front of the room as he gazed at all of his students as if we were some sort of exhibit at the zoo.

"Welcome to Defense Against he Dark Arts," he opened. "As you may have noticed, this class hasn't been taught in the proper way - having a different professor each year has played a horrible role in making this classroom confused and unaware of the subject. Regardless, I expect that you all are prepared to have a vigorous N.E.W.T. course of the subject and I assure you that it will not come as easily as your courses in the past."

Everyone found themselves starting up at Snape in horror. As it sounded, he was going to purposely make this class more difficult that it usually would be simply because he knew that we would struggle with the material. Wonderful.

"Today we will be practicing the act of using non-verbal spells," Snape instructed. "You will each go into pairs - one of you will send a spell towards the other while they attempt to block it with the standard Shield Spell. I don't expect to hear a word from your mouths - begin."

Harry and Ron paired together while Hermione and I did the same. Using the Shield Charm was not something that I found complicated at all, but without saying the spell out loud, I wasn't sure how I would manage. None of us - even the ones that were in the DA - had ever practiced a non-verbal spell.

Of course, as anyone would have guessed, Hermione was able to achieve this within the first half of class, but it didn't come so naturally to us all. I found that it was easiest to say the spell under my breath so I could block some of the spells that Hermione sent my way. It was going well for a while until Snape walked by us.

"Protego," I muttered under my breath.

The jinx she sent toward me didn't break through my shield, but that did not seem to please the professor at all.

"Miss Potter - what were the instructions that I gave you?" Snape asked with a raised eye brow.

"To practice the use of non-verbal spells," I answered.

Even before I answered him, I could already tell that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation. He either heard or saw me say the spell and it was not something that he was going to set aside.

"And what part of 'non-verbal spells' do you not understand?" Snape sneered.

"I don't understand how we're supposed to know how to - " I started.

"You don't speak Miss Potter - what is there to not understand?" he snapped. "Do you honestly believed that if you are attacked that your opponent will scream every spell they're throwing at you?"

"No, but - " I began.

"Then you must concentrate on what you're doing," Snape said with force. "Focus - use your mind!"

"It's not that easy to do," I said. "We've never done this before!"

"You're not going to be given a choice in the future - your attackers are not going to just wait around for you to figure it out," he said.

"Why are you only freaking out on her - she isn't the only one that doesn't understand how to do the assignment," Harry stepped in.

"Harry - don't worry about it," I said to him.

"No, why is he focusing on you?" Harry asked. "He has an entire class that he could be yelling at."

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape spat. "Now get to work - and Miss Potter, over here with me."

Hermione gave me a sympathetic look as I stepped away from her. She went over and worked with Harry and Ron while I followed Snape toward his desk. All the while, I could practically feel Harry's eyes watching our every move.

"Why can't I keep working with Hermione?" I asked him.

"Because it is not helping you at all," Snape said. "You aren't getting the grasp of this, so I am going to help you."

"I'm not the only one having trouble, you know?" I stated.

"Yes, but you are one of the people in this room that has a higher chance of being attacked," he pointed out. "Now stand at the ready."

"But I don't know how - " I began.

"Think about the spell in your mind," he instructed. "Visualize what it will do and think about only that spell."

I nodded and nervously held my wand in a horrible attempt to protect myself. At this point, I realized that Harry was not the only one watching us - the entire class seemed to be mimicking my brother's actions. My eyes flickered around and I noticed that some people looked frightened, while others just looked slightly amused or just confused by what was happening.

"Ready?" Snape asked.

"S-sure," I stammered.

A sudden flash of red light flew directly toward my chest and hit me directly there. I wasn't prepared, but I was knocked back on the floor with wide eyes and a pain radiating through my chest. All at once, I heard a scramble of feet, a shout and then a grunt before I was able to sit back up with the help of Ron who had run to my side.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked as he brought me to my feet.

Right when I found myself standing steadily and holding on to Ron's arm to make sure I wouldn't collapse, I noticed that everyone in the room had become incredibly quiet and they all were focused on Snape and Harry who were both glaring at each other with their wands pointed at each other as though they were about to attack.

"Detention, Potter," Snape spat at Harry.

The bell for a class change rang, but everyone seemed to be at a stand still. I had no idea what had just happened, but - judging by their expression of rage - I could tell that it was something really bad that I just missed.

Ron pulled me over toward our desks and handed me my things while we all eyed Harry until we were walking out of the door. I didn't take the time to look back at Snape, but something told me that I didn't really want to at this point.

"What happened?" I asked Hermione.

"Harry tried to attack Snape," Hermione said as Ron and Harry walked ahead of us. "Snape blocked it, but he was really mad."

"Why did he attack Snape?" I asked.

"Emily - did you not understand that Snape just attacked you?" she asked in disbelief. "He knew that you didn't know how to block the spell without saying it aloud - it looked like he did it on purpose."

"But that isn't what happened," I said. "He was trying to help me - he tried to explain what I needed to do beforehand, but I just didn't do it right."

"That isn't how it looked," Hermione said nervously.

I didn't say another word to them, but I was completely lost in my thoughts. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that Snape would even try to hurt me - so why did everyone else think that was what happened? In my eyes, he was trying to help me - but was that really what it was? Of course it was, why would Snape try to hurt me in front of the entire class? It wouldn't have made any since! Besides, what could he possibly gain by doing that - I thought that we were friends…what was going on?

_Dear Emily and Harry,I hope that you two are enjoying your first day back at school! As you two should remember, we discussed having private lessons with each other throughout the year and I think that it's best if we start those this Saturday at 8:00 PM in my office._

_I hope to see you soon,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S. You should know that I enjoy Acid Pops._

"Acid Pops?" I questioned. "Why did he tell us that?"

"Maybe he wants you to bring him some," Ron shrugged.

"Of course not," Harry rolled his eyes. "That's the password to his office - I'm sure of it."

"Oh, that probably makes more since," Ron said sheepishly.

Since we all had the NEWT course of Potions now, we all walked together to the dungeons when the time came to go to class. As soon as we stepped into the classroom and I saw Slughorn's large figure sitting on a stool in the front, I got a sickening feeling that this class was not going to remain my favorite now that this teacher was in charge.

"Welcome!" Slughorn cheerfully said to us as we found our seats. "You can sit anywhere you like - we have plenty of room."

Looking around, I took note that what he said was true. There was plenty of room in the usually packed dungeon now that we were at this level of the subject. Counting out twelve people, I realized just how many people must have flunked the OWL course. I recognized some of the other students, and I noticed one in particular that made my stomach feel like it fell a few feet - Draco Malfoy.

As soon as Draco caught sight of me, I could see his head immediately turn to his desk where he appeared to find interest in the wooden table that sat in front of him. I knew that this was his way of avoiding me, but it just didn't seem right. Sure, we were never exactly the greatest of pals, but he never really tried to push me away - both literally and figuratively - like this.

"Now everyone get their books out for today's lesson," Slughorn instructed.

I noticed Draco's eyes roll at our newest teacher and I found myself wanting to do the same. Slughorn hadn't even done anything to offend me, but my guess was that I was just bitter that he was our professor this year.

"Harry - what is it?" Slughorn called on my brother who had his hand raised.

"I don't have a book," Harry explained. "I didn't realize I would be taking this class until earlier today."

"Me either," Ron added.

"That's no matter," Slughorn patted him on the back. "There are some extra supplies in the back there - help yourselves."

Ron and Harry stepped up to the back while Slughorn brought over some vials of an assortment of potions to the front table of the room where he was sitting. Once my brother and friend returned to their seats, Slughorn motioned to what he had placed in front of him.

"One of the most important tasks in the art of Potions is being able to identify what is in front of you," Slughorn told us. "Does anyone know what these four are?"

Just as I expected, Hermione's hand shot up in the air faster than I could even comprehend what he asked. I began to raise my hand and started to put mine down, but Slughorn already noticed me.

"Miss Potter - don't be shy!" Slughorn said. "Professor Snape told me that you were his best student - go on and tell me them!"

"He did?" I asked in surprise. "I mean - Hermione had her hand up first."

"Okay, she can give me a couple of them," Slughorn said with a smile. "But don't think you're off the hook Miss Potter."

"The first one is Veritaserum," Hermione said. "It's a potion that makes the user tell the truth. The tricky thing about it is that it is colorless and odorless so it's difficult to tell when it's being used against you."

"Excellent, Miss Granger," Slughorn praised. "And the second one?"

All of our attention was turned to a potion that had the consistency of mud and I knew at once what it was. With a quick glance at Harry and Ron, I could tell that I was not the only one of us that recognized this potion that we had used before.

"That is Polyjuice Potion," Hermione answered. "It allows someone to take on the appearance of another human being."

"Good work!" Slughorn smiled. "Now Miss Potter, can you identify the next two?"

I glanced at the third potion in the row and I recognized it from Fred and George's shop that I had seen just before the break. Not only that, but I do recall seeing it in one of the books that I was given for Christmas one year.

"I believe that it's Amortentia," I said. "It's an incredibly powerful love potion."

"Correct," he said. "And do you know why this potion may not be as easy to identify?"

"It could be because it smells different to each person," I answered. "It takes on whatever smells could attract you."

"Exactly right!" Slughorn said. "Now, I'll be surprised if you can figure out this last one - have you seen it before?"

I looked at the fourth vial and I did recall seeing it in another book before. It appeared to be a sort of liquid gold color that seemed to almost float around in the glass container.

"I've seen it before…" I thought aloud. "I don't know where, but I know I have…"

"Do you recall the name?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I knew that I saw it before, but I just couldn't think of what it was called. Memories of flipping through potions books at number 4 Privet Drive flashed through my head as I tried to remember it. Suddenly, it was like a switch had been flipped.

"It's a luck potion," I answered. "Felix Felicis!"

"Wow - I am impressed!" Slughorn said. "You truly are Lily Evan's daughter! Twenty points to you Miss Potter - and ten point to you as well Miss Granger."

Hermione smiled at me excitably as she sat up in her chair waiting for whatever Slughorn was going to ask of us next. Although I was happy that we were now going to be getting points for knowing the subject, I still found myself waiting for Snape to come back in there to take over again.

"Okay, moving on," Slughorn said. "It's time for the assignment of the day: you are to create your best attempt of Draught of Living Death! Don't worry, I know that it's a difficult task, but I am confident that this class will perform very well."

Everyone began to flip the pages of their books until we finally made it to the page of instructions. It seemed to be a never ending list of instructions, but I thought that I might be able to make it by.

"Here's the trick though," Slughorn spoke up again. "Whoever brews up the best potions gets a little prize."

"What will it be?" Michael Corner said suddenly from the desk behind me.

"A little bottle of Felix Felicis," he smiled.

Everyone in the room suddenly sat up in there chairs and looked around at one another as if challenging each other silently.

"Are you willing to take on the task?" Slughorn asked us.

We all nodded anxiously up at the professor and he gave us all a big smile. I wasn't too sure if bribing us to do good on our assignments was the best way to do things, but I suppose that the only way to get us to work in Snape's class was the fear of him making a scene because we made a mistake.

"Then you may begin," Slughorn said. "And the best of luck to you all."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Sorry that this took a while, but I've had a lot to deal with lately. Hopefully that will all work out, but you all should expect the next chapter to be up within this week.**

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	11. Potions, Letters, and Relationships

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 11**

When Slughorn gave us the word, we all immediately delved into our books and began to read quickly through the instructions of the potion. From what I could tell, it was a fairly advanced potion, but I felt confident that I could do it - after all, I'd never had a potion before that I couldn't make accurately.

Beside me I could see Hermione frantically going through the ingredients and chopping them up like she was in some sort of race. In a way, I guess that we were, but it didn't really seem to be that big of a deal to me. Maybe it was just Hermione trying to impress the teacher on his first day here, it was hard to tell what exactly her motivation was. Then again, it was Hermione and she did tend to overdo things when it came to her class work.

Hermione was the first to get to work, but I was a close second as I began to go through the first steps of the instructions. It took a moment for everyone else to follow suit, but after some shifting eyes everyone started their potions.

"This is going to be dreadful," Ron mumbled from behind me.

"You're telling me," Harry mumbled. "At least you can read out of your book. Mine has scribbles all over it…"

It seemed to take forever, but my potion eventually began to resemble what it was supposed to in the end. I glanced around nervously to see if Hermione's looked any better than mine, but hers looked more purple than pink like mine did. The only concern that I had with mine was that it wasn't really that pale of a pink like the book suggested it would be. Maybe it was because I hadn't gotten enough juice out of the Sopophorous Bean, but those were known to be difficult with potions, so I tried not to think too much into it.

"Okay - time's up!" Slughorn announced just as I looked up at the clock to see that our time in class was coming to an end.

Hermione let out a sigh and looked over at my cauldron with envy. She knew that my potion was closer, but this didn't give me any relief as Slughorn came over to observe my pink potion that I hardly considered an accomplishment. Never before had I not completed a potion with perfection and this bothered me more than I liked to admit.

"Excellent job, Miss Potter - this one could win," Slughorn praised me.

He smiled at me as he moved to the row behind me where Harry and Ron were sitting. When I turned around, I could tell that Ron's wasn't even remotely close to what the potion should look like, but it didn't really seem to bother him in the slightest. When Slughorn looked down at his cauldron, his eyebrow raised and he only looked at Ron without being able to find words.

"I think I did something wrong," Ron admitted awkwardly.

"I don't believe I'll argue with that statement," Slughorn mumbled as he moved in front of Harry's cauldron.

When I saw the cauldron in front of my brother, I only had a moment of shock to see that Harry's potion matched the color that was described in the book before Slughorn opened his mouth.

"I believe we have a winner," Slughorn smiled. "Congratulations Mr. Potter!"

I don't know whose jaw dropped faster - Hermione's or mine. Harry stared at us both with a smirk on his face and I felt like we were in some sort of alternate universe. Not to sound cocky - even though it really does sound like it - but I had always done so much better than Harry and it had never occurred to me that Harry could have out-brewed Hermione and me.

The entire class watched in disbelief and envy as Slughorn took the small, golden vial from his desk and handed it over to Harry. He had done it - he won the liquid luck.

"How did you do it?" I asked Harry as soon as we stepped out of the room.

"I guess you can say I'm lucky," Harry smirked as he waved his prize in front of my face.

"I'm serious Harry," I said. "You've always been dreadful at Potions - no offense."

"Maybe it wasn't me," Harry said. "Maybe Snape was just a bad teacher and that Slughorn knows what he's doing."

"What are you talking about?" I asked defensively. "Slughorn hasn't even taught us anything!"

Something didn't add up. Harry wasn't good at potions - I wasn't trying to be mean, but it's a fact. This sudden change in his performance couldn't have just been a coincidence...or was it? Had Snape been so negative toward Harry in the past years that it effected his work? It didn't seem right, but what else could have caused a change like this? I didn't know what it was, but there was something odd about the victorious face of my brother as he clutched onto battered potions book and his newest potion.

* * *

Before dinner a couple days later, I was sitting in the common room finishing up the last of a short essay for Charms when I heard a pecking on the window outside. Ron jumped up first and walked over the window so he could let in a very odd looking owl that I recognized to be George's - he had just bought it before we went to the burrow. Clutched in the large, brown and white spotted owl's foot was a rolled up letter that Ron pried from him.

"Oh - it's for you," Ron said as he tossed the letter over to where I was sitting.

"Thanks," I said as I opened up the letter with excitement.

_Emily,_

_I thought you said you would write to me! I'm only joking - I don't doubt that you're busy at Hogwarts. How's the old castle holding up anyway? It feels like it's been centuries since I've seen it last. And what about that new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor - Slughorn, I believe you said his name was. Has he sprouted any fangs yet?_

_Things back home have slowed down a lot now that school is in session. It's kind of depressing that we're able to walk through our shop properly now, but there are still a few people that come in every now and then. I suspect that things will pick up as soon as there's a holiday at Hogwarts._

_Oh, I should probably tell you that Fred found out that we had sex - and by found out, I mean that I sort of told him. He kept asking me what was wrong with me because I looked "happier than usual" and I told him what happened. He doesn't believe me though, he said that I probably dreamed it all up. He informed me that I wasn't allowed to have sex before he did because he's under the impression that he's the attractive one (he wishes). Oh, and he's been yelling at me for the past couple of minutes for me to say hi for him - so Fred says hello._

_Well, we're about to go over to Mum and Dad's for lunch, so I guess that I should wrap this up before Fred starts eating his desk._

_Miss you and love you very much,_

_George_

"Judging by the ridiculous grin on your face, I'm just going to assume that was from George," Harry said.

"Quiet you," I scolded him.

He laughed and handed me some spare parchment that he had so I could respond to his letter. Trying to make sure I didn't have a 'ridiculous grin' on my face, I began writing.

_George,_

_Don't you scold me - school has only been going on for a couple of days! Regardless, it still feels different without you here and I miss you very much too. I can hardly wait for the holidays!_

_I'm sorry to hear that things have been going so slow at the shop, but you're right in thinking that things will pick right back up when the holidays start. People here absolutely love Weasley Wizard Wheezes - I've already seen a handful of people use your products today (much to Professor McGonagall's annoyance)._

_On the subject of Slughorn, here's the shock - he isn't our Defense Against the Dark Art professor. Dumbledore didn't tell Harry and me that we were trying to get him to fill the Potions position which means that Snape finally got the job that he's always wanted. To be honest, I'm not really sure I'm going to like this. I don't know why, but I liked Snape as the Potions professor and I feel almost like I'm lost now that he's not there anymore, do you get what I mean? And Harry's already gotten detention from Snape because of the lesson we had today. We were trying to do non-verbal spells and Snape brought me to the front and I wasn't able to block the spell that he sent at me and everyone thinks that he was trying to hurt me on purpose...do you think that's true?_

_Tell Fred I said hey and it's okay that you told him, just make sure he doesn't talk about around your mother or Harry for that matter - seriously, I think their wrath would kill us. Hermione found out too and she completely guessed. I think she noticed as soon I came back into her bedroom that morning that something was up - I guess I'm just not good at keeping secrets from her._

_Much, much love,_

_Emily_

_P.S. Oh, and this is to Fred: he's telling the truth._

I rolled up the parchment and handed it over to the owl that I pet before it flew out of the window and off toward Diagon Alley where my boyfriend and his brother awaited the customers that came from all around. When I looked back around at everyone, I noticed what Harry was holding in his hand - it was the small vial of liquid luck that he won earlier that day. When he noticed that I was watching him, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Jealous?" he asked.

"I just don't understand how you did it," I admitted.

"Wow, I'm so glad to hear that my sister has such confidence in me," Harry muttered sarcastically.

"Harry, you know that I don't think you're dumb," I told him. "It's just that you've never really excelled in Potions and now all of a sudden you're the best in class."

"It was just one time," Harry pointed out.

"You have to admit that it's odd," Ron spoke up. "You were dreadful last year when Snape was in charge."

"Maybe this year is my year," he shrugged.

I rolled my eyes and got up to go to the Great Hall with Hermione while Ron and Harry stayed back to talk to a person interested in Quidditch this year. The only thing on my mind at the time was Harry's latest achievement. Although I should be proud of him for doing so well - and I was proud - I just couldn't wrap my head around what happened.

Harry had always been awful in Potions and now I was beginning to question why. Was it really just a coincidence that he made a perfect potion in class now that we had a new teacher or was it just that Snape had been too hard on him before?

As we grew closer to the Great Hall, I found Snape lerking around in the halls of the second floor. Hermione didn't seem to notice as she chatted away about what she think she did wrong with her potion and how she feels about Slughorn's teaching, but my attention was focused on the newly named Defense Against the Dark Arts professor whose dark eyes just met mine. There was a small, hardly noticeable twitch of his eye when he saw me and he quickly went back to pacing around like he had before he saw us.

"Emily - are you listening?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, er - yeah," I said quickly. "You were talking about Slughorn."

"I just don't know if his methods are the best," she continued. "Bribing the students with rewards for completing assignments is not the proper thing to do."

"Hermione, I know for a fact that you wanted that potion just as much as everyone else," I said while my eyes flickered over to Snape again.

"I know," she admitted. "It would have been nice to have won...I just wish that I knew how Harry did it."

"I'm going to get back to you on that," I finally said. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall in a minute."

She raised an eyebrow, but I ignored her curiosity as I walked over to Snape who appeared to be acting as though he couldn't see me approaching him.

"I have to ask you something," I informed him without any sort of introduction.

He turned to me and didn't give a verbal response, but his nearly blank expression suggested that I should continue on with what I came over to him to ask.

"Did you fail Harry on purpose when you taught him?" I asked.

For a moment he just blankly stared at me and then he slowly raised an eyebrow and looked mildly irritated and somewhat amused.

"As much as I would like to take credit in Mr. Potter's misfortune," Snape answered. "I can assure you that he failed my course on his own. Why do you ask?"

"He seems to feel that you were not completely fair while teaching him," I explained. "That and he made a better potion than me a couple days ago..."

Maybe it was wrong that I couldn't get my mind off of the fact that Harry beat me at making a potion, but the thought just wouldn't go away. For a moment, I saw a look of surprise on Snape's face, but he quickly masked it with a blank look.

"Perhaps he discovered how to read instructions this summer," Snape suggested. "Unless of course he decided to cheat."

"How could he have cheated?" I asked.

"It runs in his genes," Snape said bluntly.

"My father didn't cheat," I replied quickly.

"Really, did he tell you that himself?" Snape said coldly.

My heart sank as he stared coldly at me and I had trouble coming up with any sort of retort for a moment. Snape had never thrown my parents' death in my face and this had come out of nowhere.

"You know as well as I do that I never spoke to my parents." I croaked. "But that gives you no right to talk poorly of them."

"I don't believe that you have the authority to tell me what I can and cannot do, Miss Potter," Snape retorted.

"I don't need to have any authority to tell when someone's being a complete ass," I retorted far too quickly.

"Detention - for a week," Snape spat. "Now get out of my sight - I have more important things to do than listen to your complaining, girl."

His eyes were locked on mine with a glare and I felt like he had just smacked me across my face. Never before had Snape spoken down to me in this way and it made my stomach feel like it was in a knot. For a moment, I felt like I could have just burst into tears, but I restrained myself enough to speak a few words.

"Fine," I spoke softly. "If that's how you want it."

I turned around and refused to look back at him. As I turned the corner, I started to hear his footsteps walking in the other direction and I began to have flashes of Snape hitting me with that spell on the first day of class. I felt my throat constricting as I realized that Harry might have been right - maybe Snape really was trying to attack me. But why? What had changed over the summer that made him bitter toward me?

"Emily?"

I jumped and turned around to see Neville walking toward me. When he saw me, he suddenly looked confused and rushed over to me.

"Are you crying - what's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"I-it's nothing," I stammered as I wiped my eyes dry.

"What happened?" he insisted as he sat me down on a bench that sat in the hallway.

"It was Snape," I said as another year rolled down my face.

"What did he do?" Neville asked as he sat next to me.

"Something is wrong Neville," I responded softly. "He's never spoken to me like that."

"What did he say?" he continued.

"It wasn't even what he said as much as _how_ he said it," I murmured. "He was talking to me like I was something that he found in the garbage."

"In other words, he was treating you like every other student at Hogwarts," Neville said with a small laugh.

"You have a point," I laughed as I wiped a few more tears from my cheeks.

"But I guess that is rather odd since you too get on pretty well," Neville shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he's just having a bad day or something."

I nodded and tried to imagine that what he was saying was true. Something told me that there was another issue, but I couldn't tell at the moment and I guess that there wasn't any use in letting it bother me to the point I couldn't think straight.

"Come on, let's go to the Great Hall before Harry finds you like this," Neville said. "I don't think that it would look good to hear that Harry Potter murdered a teacher at Hogwarts for making his sister cry."

I laughed and he helped me stand up as we walked toward the Great Hall where I had been going in the first place. Remembering this, I thought about how Hermione must be wondering what was taking me so long to get there. Just as I suspected, she was sitting at the Gryffindor table looking nervously around the room until she spotted me walking in with Neville.

"There you are," Hermione sighed as we sat down with her. "I was about to go looking for you."

"I just...got caught up with something," I said as I avoided her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked. "Your eyes are all puffy - have you been crying? Emily, what happened?"

"Nothing," I bluntly said. "I just don't want to talk about it right now, okay?"

She nodded and attempted to look sympathetic, but as soon as she thought I wasn't looking I noticed her eyeing Neville as if to say he was going to tell her what was going on as soon as possible. She was so nosy...

"Excuse me, have you seen Ron?"

I turned in my seat to see Lavender Brown staring at me intently. It took me a moment to realize that she was asking me this, so she must have thought that I was mental.

"Er - I think he's still in the common room," I answered. "Why, do you need him for something?"

"Oh no," she replied. "I was just wondering."

She walked off to sit with her usual friends and left the three of us staring at her in confusion and, in Hermione's case, hostility.

"What does _she_ want with Ron?" Hermione asked.

"No idea," I shrugged. "But I have a feeling that it isn't to ask him about our Charms lesson..."

Since last year, I couldn't really say that I was a huge fan of Lavender Brown. She was one of the people that stuck to her beliefs that I was a liar and an attention-seeker until the very end and I wasn't just going to forget that happened. Now, as it seemed to be, she felt that she could just casually walk up to us and talk to us like we were buddy-buddy. No. I don't think so.

"Hey," Hermione waved to Ron and Harry who just walked up to sit with us.

"Lavender Brown was just asking for you," I told Ron. "Have you been speaking to her?"

"Lavender?" Ron asked. "Really - why?"

"We don't know," Hermione spoke in with a little anger coming out in her tone. "She just said that she wanted to know where you were - is there a reason for that?"

Harry, Neville, and I just looked from Ron to Hermione with a sort of terror going through us. Although Ron seemed to be oblivious to Hermione's hostility towards Lavender, we all knew that he was the only one that wasn't catching on.

"How should I know why Lavender would want to talk to me?" Ron asked as he picked up a chicken leg and took a large bite out of it.

"You're unbelievable," Hermione muttered under her breath.

"Wub bib I bo?" he asked as he spat chicken everywhere.

"That's classy Ron - would you shut your mouth when you eat?" Harry said irritably and then looked over at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," I said.

Just at that moment I noticed a couple of people walking into the Great Hall - it was Draco followed by Snape. My blood felt like it had just turned into ice when I realized that he had pushed me to the side just so he could talk to Draco. What was that about? Did they talk regularly? And why did Draco look so angry?

"Well isn't that just touching," Harry scoffed.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Looks to me like Snape is getting Malfoy ready to be a Death Eater," Harry said.

"Knock it off, Harry," I snapped. "Neither of them are Death Eaters."

"No need to get so defensive," Harry said as he stabbed a green bean. "I'm just saying that it's likely."

"I can't believe that you would defend him even when you're mad at him," Neville commented.

"Mad at who?" Hermione asked.

"No one," I shot a look at Neville.

"Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"Snape?" Harry suggested.

"It doesn't matter, okay?" I said. "What happened between Snape and I is none of your business."

"So it was Snape," Hermione said.

"What did he do?" Harry asked as he glared over at our former Potions Master.

"Just drop it, would you?" I demanded. "It's none of your business - I can handle it."

Seeing that they weren't getting anywhere they finally decided to leave me to sulk in silence. Maybe what happened in the hallway was just a one time thing, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Snape seemed to be really irritated that I was around him at the time. Was he really up to something with Draco or was I just letting Harry's words get to me? Either way I just wished that things would be normal again.

But then again, when are things ever normal in my life?

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I meant to have this up earlier, but I've had some things come up randomly and wasn't able to update. As far as the next chapter goes, I should have it up fairly soon with it being Spring Break and all. I hope that you all had a good Easter - or just a regular Sunday if you don't celebrate that - and I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can.**

**So what do you think is going to happen with Snape and Emily's relationship? And what about with Draco and whatever the relationship was between him and Emily? Tell me in a comment!**

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	12. Unraveling the Past

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 12 **

It only took a few hours before we all found out how Harry was doing so well in Potions class and it had nothing to do with who was teaching the subject - it was his book. As we were quick to discover, the previous owner of the book took several, very helpful notes along the sides of just about every page.

"Does it say who it belonged to?" Ron asked in the common room towards the end of the first week.

"All it says is that it belonged to the 'Half-Blood Prince,'" Harry shrugged as he flipped through the pages. "I don't know who it was, but the guy was obviously brilliant."

"I think you should return it," Hermione said nervously.

"Are you mad?" Ron laughed. "It's because of that book that he's the best in class right now - you just don't like it because he does better than you now."

Hermione sat back against the cough and started mumbling incoherently as she flipped though some of her History of Magic notes that she took earlier that day. Honestly, I had to side with her on this matter - what Harry was doing wasn't exactly what I would consider fair, but it wasn't really cheating either. I guess it was just using his misfortune of not having his own book to his advantage, but it still felt too much like cheating to me and that would mean that Snape made a correct assumption during our last encounter.

"What do you think Emily?" Harry asked me as he shut his book. "Should I get rid of it?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I guess there isn't any harm in getting some tips from a book, but you need to be careful with that thing."

"It's just a book," Harry said.

"Yes, and so was Tom Riddle's diary," I pointed out.

Harry nodded and sat back against his chair without another word about it. I guess that it was a little extreme to compare the two books, but you can never be sure now that we don't know who this Half Blood Prince person was. To be honest, I just wanted to tell him to get rid of it, but I knew that he would brush off what I said just like he did with Hermione's worries.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," I said as I stood up.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"I have detention with Snape for the next week," I said.

"For what?" Harry asked. "Is that what the argument was about that you refused to talk about?"

"I called him out for being an ass," I answered. "And yes, it was part of the...argument that we had."

"Look who finally sees the light," Ron said dramatically. "Snape is an asshole - "

"Okay, I get it," I rolled my eyes. "I'll see you all afterwards..."

I shook my head at them as I walked out of the room. They didn't actually understand how much I was hurting from my encounter with Snape, but I didn't really feel comfortable talking to them about it simply because I knew they wouldn't understand. Normally I could go to Harry with things like this, but his hatred would blind him from any sympathy and he would just encourage me to hate Snape and that isn't what I wanted right now.

It didn't take as long to get to Snape's new office as I wanted it to, but when I got there the door was closed and I could hear people speaking on the inside. From what I could tell, it wasn't exactly a very pleasant conversation.

"I know my mother put you up to this, but I don't need your help!"

"This is not a simple task, Mr. Malfoy," Snape demanded. "My assistance may be mandatory in order to complete it."

"I can do this myself - just leave me alone!"

When the door started to open, I quickly jumped back and tried to act like I had just walked into the area. When Draco Malfoy stepped out of the room and saw me, his face went extremely pale and he seemed to be frozen in his tracks.

"Er - hello," I said nervously.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me quickly.

"I have detention with Snape," I explained. "I was just coming to - "

"Fine," Draco cut me off. "Well, I have to be somewhere."

"Oh, right," I said awkwardly. "Um...have a good day?"

"Sure," he said with a raised eyebrow. "Have fun in detention."

"Sure thing," I smirked.

Draco left the door open and I walked toward it after he got out of my sight. Knocking on the door to announce my arrival, I walked into Snape's newest classroom where I found him sitting in the front of the room with an irritable look on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Snape demanded.

"Wow, I've been getting that a lot lately," I muttered. "You gave me detention - I could just skip. Don't worry, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest."

"Don't be ridiculous," Snape said as he stood up from his desk. "I can find something for you to do - just put your things down."

I set my backpack on one of the tables and walked up so I could follow Snape to what he was getting for me to do. Much to my dismay, he pulled out an old rag and a bottle of cleanser and practically tossed them into my hands.

"Clean off all of the tables," he instructed. "I expect them to be spotless - and no magic or I'll make you do them again."

"Sure thing," I murmured.

I stepped over to the table in the front of the room and began to scrub the table down. For the most part, they didn't seem to be all that dirty, but I figured that there wouldn't be that much to do since it was the beginning of the year. Generally speaking, teachers aren't exactly busy when school hasn't even gone on a full week.

It wasn't until I reached the middle aisle of the room that my head began to hurt from the fumes of the cleaner that I was given. With each second passing, I was only reminded of my years back at the Dursleys were Aunt Petunia would constantly make me clean her house with a similar smelling cleanser. My nose usually burned for a few days after that, but at least it wasn't that difficult to do. The only bad thing with my aunt was that she would usually get annoyed with my presence and make me do a thorough cleaning of the house several times a month just to get me away from her.

"You missed a spot."

I looked up at Snape who was glaring down at a table that I had only cleaned moments ago. He didn't take his eye off of it until I stomped over to him and scrubbed the small spot of ink from the desk.

"I guess that will do," he said. "Continue what you were doing..."

He went around to the other desks to examine them while I returned to the final row of tables and made sure to get every single mark from them so he couldn't keep me in here any longer than necessary.

It wasn't that much longer before the last table was finished and I was putting the rag and bottle back into the cabinet that Snape got them from when I first walked into the classroom.

"Can I leave?" I asked.

"Take a seat, Miss Potter," Snape said without actually answering my question.

I hesitantly stepped over to a chair in the front row of the room and looked up at him questioningly. Is this were the awful lecture about the importance of being respectful to our teachers came in?

"Are you aware of why you have detention?" he asked as he stood in front of my table.

"Because I called you an ass," I bluntly answered.

"That was the obvious answer," Snape continued. "But your presence in here is not completely because of that."

"You needed your tables clean and I seemed like the right person for the job?" I suggested sarcastically.

"You think yourself above other students when your around me, do you not?" he said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Miss Potter, I believe that you think that you can get away with every little remark that you have simply because you are speaking to a person that has been sympathetic to you in the past."

"And you think that you can get away with a remark about my parents just because you think you knew them," I retorted. "I do not show respect to those who do not respect me."

"Do you not recall how you approached me today?" he inquired.

"I wanted to know if you were biased toward my brother," I said.

"You implied that I gave him an improper grade because I simply do not care for your brother, is that correct?"

"I don't know - is it correct, Professor Snape?" I asked.

"I may despise some of my students," Snape said with narrowed eyes. "But I give them the grades they deserve and your brother simply did not deserve a higher grade than what I gave him."

"Why?" I asked. "Because his father is James Potter?"

"He is your father as well," Snape said. "And you left my course with nothing below an Outstanding."

"Point taken, but you didn't hate me then," I said.

"Who said that I hate you now?" he asked with sudden surprise.

"No one had to say it," I retorted. "Now, if you don't mind I have more important matters to attend to instead of listening to you complain."

Leaving him without another word, I stepped out of his classroom and slammed the door behind me. Feeling victorious from throwing what he said back in his face, I walked with a certain skip to my step as I made my way back to the common room.

Hopefully he would take the comment as well as I did with his.

* * *

The next day I was happy to remember that I wasn't going to have to attend Snape's detention because it was finally time to meet with Dumbledore for the lessons that we were going to be having with him. Being Saturday, there really wasn't anything else that could occupy my time enough to get that night off of my mind - what was Dumbledore going to show us? Was he going to continue Occlumency lessons or was it going to be something completely different?

"So Emily," Ron spoke up when we were sitting in an outdoor courtyard later that day. "Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team this year?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I might - I haven't really thought about it to be honest."

"You were pretty good last year," Harry commented. "You should at least try out - it couldn't hurt."

"I guess I could," I said. "Do you know who else is trying out?"

"I know Ginny wants to play still," Harry said. "She talked to me about it yesterday - and I'm pretty sure that Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke from last year are giving it another go."

"Oh," I said unable to hide my disgust.

"What?" Harry asked. "What's wrong with Ginny coming back - "

"I wasn't talking about Ginny," I laughed. "It's that Andrew Kirke guy - I just don't like him. He kept hitting on me last year and it got on my nerves."

"Maybe he won't be any good," Ron suggested. "He wasn't that incredible last year - and you shouldn't blow off try-outs just because he would be there."

"I guess," I sighed. "But if he starts anything then I'm just going to blame you two."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him," Harry said.

I nodded and continued to write my Potions essay alongside Harry who seemed to be able to write his a lot easier than he had in previous years. I sort of missed when he needed my help - it was almost like having a child that didn't need help on their homework anymore and left me feeling like he didn't need me for anything anymore. Maybe I was just thinking too much into it, but it still was a little sad for me.

"When do you two have to go see Dumbledore?" Hermione asked as she packed away her finished homework.

"In a couple hours," Harry answered as he looked down at his watch. "I just want to know what he's going to teach us."

"Well, if it's Dumbledore then you know it's going to be good," Ron said.

A few more people walked into the courtyard, so we had to stop talking about our secret lessons - that was the last thing that I needed people talking about in the school. They were already under the impression that we were the Chosen Pair and if they heard that we were getting private lessons from Dumbledore then it might as well be confirmed.

When eight o'clock finally came around, Harry grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and we both quietly made our way toward Dumbledore's office. It had been a while since I'd been under the thing and I never realized how big Harry had gotten since our last time under the cloak together. I still wasn't a very tall person, but his height made us have to go slower through the halls so we could make sure that his feet wouldn't show up underneath.

"Acid Pops," Harry said once we were in front of the gargoyle that blocked the way to his door.

The gargoyle stepped aside and we stepped in and took off the cloak. The moving staircase brought us up to the headmaster's office where we knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Harry and Emily Potter," I answered.

"Oh - right on time," Dumbledore called. "Come on in."

Harry pushed the door open and I walked in first to see Dumbledore sitting behind his desk with a smile on his face when he saw us walking in. I waved to him as I made my way to one of the two chairs that sat on the opposite side of his desk.

"Good evening, you two," Dumbledore said. "I assume that you've had a good week?"

"It's been interesting," Harry answered as he took his seat.

"I've been informed that both of you managed to get detention from Professor Snape," Dumbledore said. "Maybe you ought to be a little more careful."

"It was well worth it," I responded.

"Yes, I've heard the details of your misbehavior," Dumbledore smiled. "And I can assure you that you haven't made Professor Snape a happy man."

"Good," I said.

Dumbledore nodded, but there was something about his expression that looked sad. Maybe he was unhappy with the way Snape was acting toward me - or maybe it was because he was upset that I didn't show sympathy toward my teacher.

"So what exactly are we going to be doing here, sir?" Harry asked to break the silence.

"Yes, I'm sure that you two have been wondering this for a while," Dumbledore smiled. "And so I shall tell you that I have brought you here to discover some things with me that could help you in the future."

"It has to do with the prophecy, right?" I asked.

"Precisely," Dumbledore nodded. "I have, up until this point, told you everything that I can to prepare you for what lies ahead. But there are some things that lie in the past that I believe will come to use."

"The past, sir?" Harry inquired.

"I am sure that you both remember the Pensieve, of course?" Dumbledore said while motioning across the room.

There sat, on the side of the room, a devise that I have come to know in the past year. This device was used to observe a person's memories - in my experience I have only seen those of Dumbledore and Snape, neither of which I was given any sort of permission to see.

"What are we going to be looking at?" I asked.

"It will be different from day to day," Dumbledore told us. "But the purpose of this all is to give both of you - along with myself - a better understanding of Voldemort and why he has become the way he is."

"So we're looking at Voldemort's memories?" Harry asked in shock.

"Not through his eyes, my dear boy," Dumbledore said. "But through the eyes of people who knew him. Today we shall look through memory of a man named Bob Ogden."

"Who is that?" Harry and I asked together.

"You shall see for yourself," Dumbledore explained. "Now follow me - we have much to observe."

We walked across his office toward the small bowl that had a silver-like fluid floating on its surface. Although I didn't see any sort of image in it at the moment, I knew that it was about to appear as soon as Dumbledore opened a vial that he pulled off of a shelf nearby. Into the bowl of the Pensieve, the memory inside of the bottle was poured and Dumbledore motioned for us both to step forward.

"Go on," Dumbledore said. "I do believe you know how this particular object works."

We both had an awkward smile, but Harry stepped up first and I walked up second. Together we put our faces into the odd substance in the Pensieve and we were instantly sucked into the bowl like it was a vacuum.

Only seconds afterwards, I found myself standing next to an old looking house with an older man knocking on the door that, oddly enough, had a rather large snake nailed to the front of the door. The man had a grave expression on his face and he looked as though he wished he were anywhere else than the porch that he stood.

"Who is it?" a voice asked from inside.

"Bog Ogden," the man answered. "From the Ministry of Magic."

The door of the house flew open and a very horrible looking man stood before us all. This man, unlike any other that I had seen before, bore a strong resemblance to a gorilla and seemed to have the same odor and hygiene of one as well. Behind the man stood a younger man that looked as though he was the older man's son. In the corner of the room, almost out of view, stood a woman that was wearing rags and looking at the ground as if she were trying to make herself invisible.

"Who are these people?" I asked in horror.

Dumbledore and Harry didn't respond, but we all continued to listen as they began to talk to one another.

"You are Mr. Gaunt?" Ogden asked.

"Yeah, what business do you have here?" Gaunt asked.

"I am actually here to discuss something that your son was involved in," Ogden said.

"Are you a pure-blood?" Gaunt asked.

"W-what?" Ogden asked. "That is of no matter - may I come in?"

"Probably a filthy Mudblood," Gaunt muttered. "You can come in, but you better make it quick."

Ogden nervously stepped into the house and the three of us followed behind him. Now that I had a proper view of the inside, I realized just how badly this house was. Judging by the way these people presented themselves, they seemed to have no care for anything at all. The only one that seemed to want to get out of the house, other than Ogden of course, was the frightened girl that stood in the corner of the room holding a broom in her hand.

"This is Morfin - the girl is Merope," Gaunt grunted. "Merope - fix some tea for the man and maybe he'll take you away from here."

Morfin, who had taken a seat on a lumpy armchair, began to laugh at Merope as she scurried over to grab a teapot.

"Now what do you want?" Gaunt demanded.

"Your son, Mofin, has broken Wizarding Law by performing magic in front of a Muggle," Ogden explained. "Now he has been sentenced to - "

"Broken the law?" Gaunt laughed. "Since when is beating around some filthy Muggle against the law?"

Morfin began to laugh along with his father as a rather large snake began to slither by and curl up his lap, which was seen as rather alarming to their guest who was staring suspiciously at the creature.

"It is against the law to attack innocent civilians, yes," Ogden continued and tried to act casually.

"Was only teaching them a lesson, I was," Morfin laughed. "Not like it matters anyway - the world could do with less Muggles around these parts."

"That is - " Ogden started.

There was a sudden sound of glass shattering across the room that broke off a very angry and offended looking Bob Ogden. When everyone looked up to see what it was, I saw the pale faced daughter of Mr. Gaunt looking around at them all in fear.

"Pick up the damn thing, girl!" Gaunt shouted at her in disgust. "And hurry up and fix it - that's valuable, you know."

Merope scrambled to pick up the teapot that she just dropped and her brother began to laugh at her as she pulled the pieces together hopelessly. Her father, Mr. Gaunt, couldn't have looked any more disgusted as he watched his filthy looking daughter pull out a wand and attempt to mend it. I noticed, with each flick of the wand, that Merope seemed to become even more hopeless as nothing happened.

"Look at you, you filthy Squib," Mr. Gaunt spat at his daughter. "You're a pathetic excuse for a woman - reparo!"

The teapot was fixed and Merope picked it up without making eye contact with anyone in the room. She shamefully walked over to the sink that sat on the side of the room and filled it up.

"How could you talk to your own daughter like that?" Ogden asked slowly. "I thought that I was going to be talking to respectable people - "

"Filthy little Mudblood comes into our house and insults us," Morfin said over on his couch while looking at his snake.

"I beg your pardon?" Ogden asked while staring at Morfin in confusion.

"Was he just speaking Parseltongue?" Harry asked, making me jump because I had forgotten he was there.

Dumbledore nodded and continued to watch the people in front of us. I got the impression that Dumbledore didn't want to do much talking until we had watched everything that he wanted to see.

"You don't think we're respectable people?" Gaunt suddenly asked. "Do you realize who you are speaking to, you filthy Muggle-lover?"

Gaunt suddenly shoved his hand up to Ogden's eyes and I noticed for the first time there was a large, ugly looking ring on his finger. I wasn't sure what this was supposed to mean, but I realized that I wasn't the only one that didn't understand judging by Bob Ogden's face expression.

"This is a ring that has belonged to our family for generations," Gaunt explained aggressively. "It shows that we have been pure-blood all through the years - more than you can say for yourself. And this - "

Gaunt suddenly stepped over to his daughter and grabbed her by a necklace that hung from her neck and dragged her by the throat - her choking along the way.

"This belonged to Salazar Slytherin," Gaunt said through his daughter's gasps for air. "We are direct descendants from him - so show some respect to us. We are your superiors!"

"Mr. Gaunt, I came here to inform you that your son broke the law," Ogden said in attempt to bring them back to the original subject. "Your relations make no changes to the fact that you broke the law."

"We refuse to - " Gaunt started.

Everyone in the room went quiet when two rather loud people walked by the outside of the house, obviously talking about the poor conditions of the home itself along with its inhabitants.

"I cannot believe that any person could live in a dump like this," a girl said with a high-pitched laugh. "Do you know who these people are, Tom?"

"These are the Gaunts," Tom answered. "They're a bunch of nutters if you ask me, I saw the old man not that long ago."

"They must be mad - just look what they have on the front of their door!" the girl said. "Isn't that a snake?"

"Oh, I do believe it is," Tom said in surprise. "That is horrid - don't look at it, my dear! Let's get out of here before Mr. Gaunt comes out - I don't want you to be exposed to a person like that."

Both of their voices faded away and I looked around at the room to see what was happening. Merope, who had moved over to the window to look out, looked even paler than usual and seemed as though she wanted to jump out of the window to join the two people we had just heard. The others, meaning Mr. Gaunt and his son, were looking from the window to Merope in complete and utter disgust.

"Just look at the way he makes her act," Morfin said. "Every time that Muggle walks by she jumps up to go see him - but don't worry Father, I taught him a lesson."

"What do you mean she looks at a Muggle?" Gaunt roared. "Do you mean that you fancy a Muggle - you filthy blood-traitor!"

He immediately began to attack his daughter and threw his hands around her throat and choked her. The last thing I saw before Dumbledore pulled me back out of the Pensieve was the girl gasping for air as her father choked her and Bob Ogden pulling out his wand and shouting a spell to let her go.

Once again, I found myself standing in Dumbledore's office. Harry and I stood around the Pensieve for a moment longer as we tried to digest what we he had just seen. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was making his way toward his desk with a curious expression on his face.

"Mr. Gaunt said that he was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin," I said slowly as I turned to face our headmaster. "So that means that he is related to Voldemort."

"That is correct," Dumbledore nodded. "Marvolo Gaunt was the man's full name - he was Voldemort's grandfather."

"Grandfather?" Harry asked. "Does that mean that one of the other two people there was a parent of his?"

"That is correct - any guess as to which one?" Dumbledore asked.

"Was it Gaunt's daughter, Merope?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore nodded and looked to me as I began to open up my mouth. I thought had crossed my mind during the memory when the people had passed by the house, but I had kept my mouth shut in fear of guessing wrong.

"Emily, you have something to add?" Dumbledore urged me.

"Well, it's about the Muggles that passed by," I said hesitantly. "The girl said the name Tom - is that of any significance?"

"I was hoping that you would pick up on that," our headmaster smiled.

"It was the Muggle that Merope was choked for looking at," Harry said with sudden realization. "You said that his name was Tom - was that by any chance Voldemort's father?"

"That is correct," Dumbledore nodded. "That was Tom Riddle Sr. that passed by the Gaunt's house that day."

"They got married?" I asked. "But how - Tom seemed to be disgusted by her family."

"You're quite right," Dumbledore agreed. "But it wasn't by chance that the two were wed after Merope's father and brother were thrown in Azkaban?"

"So you're saying that something was done to make this happen?" Harry said. "Like she forced him to marry her?"

"Indeed she did," Dumbledore said. "Any guesses as to how?"

"A love potion," I answered. "She must have found some way to get it to him when he passed by her home."

"That was my guess," Dumbledore nodded. "And after he was tricked into marrying her, the two ran off to live with one another while he was still under her trance. By the time she was pregnant with her child, things began to go wrong. I assumed that she might have stopped giving him the potion in hopes that he really did love her after all of that time, but what ever it may have been it was enough to make him run off."

"So he left her and his son?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and he made no effort to contact them afterwards," Dumbledore said.

There was a moment of silence between us all as we thought all of this through. The whole idea of this tragic past of Voldemort's almost made me pity him. But then I remembered who this actually was and all pity immediately vanished.

"Do you suppose that is why Voldemort hates Muggles so much?" I asked him.

"It wouldn't be a bad assumption," Dumbledore shrugged. "But I do believe that the two of you have thought this through enough for the night - it is getting awfully late anyway."

"Thank you, sir," Harry and I said together.

"Good night," he smiled.

We both stepped up from the chairs that we had somehow made our way to and went directly out of the door. Once we were in the hallways once more, I finally looked over at my brother to see if I could get some idea of what was going through his head.

"Did you notice that ring that Gaunt was wearing?" Harry asked me after he made sure the halls were clear.

"Sure," I said. "Kind of an ugly thing, that was."

"Did you not recognize it?" he asked.

"I don't think I've ever seen it," I answered with a puzzled look.

"I saw it once before," Harry said. "It was on the night that we left the Dursleys with Dumbledore."

"Where was it?" I asked.

"Dumbledore was wearing it at the time," he said. "It was on the same hand that was blackened."

I tried to remember if I had seen it, but the memory wasn't as clear as I would have hoped. Even if the ring had been there I wouldn't have noticed it - I was too distracted by the fact that Dumbledore's hand looked like it had been beaten repeatedly with a hammer. That's when a thought occurred to me.

"You don't think there is a connection there?" I asked. "You know - to the ring and his hand?"

"I'm not sure," Harry said. "How could there be?"

"I don't know - it's just a ring, isn't it?"

"I suppose so..."

We continued to walk through the silent and vacant halls of Hogwarts with so many things flying through our heads. Now with this ring in mind and all we had learned about Voldemort's past, I seriously began to question if I would ever be able to sleep again.

If this was only our first lesson with Dumbledore, what would the others bring?

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope that you all had a good week and I will try to get the next chapter up soon.**

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	13. Maybe Not The Best Line

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 13**

Throughout the time that passed after we discovered a bit of Voldemort's past, we were hardly given the time to actually think it over properly before we had an enormous pile of school work thrown at our feet. Between trying to get in some studying and dealing with the now awkwardly silent detentions with Snape, I hardly got a second of breathing in.

"How many more days do you have with that git anyway?" Ron asked.

"Just one more night," I shrugged.

"Excellent - that means that you can make Quidditch try-outs," he said while rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"Why are you so determined to have me try-out?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said after a moment.

"It doesn't matter if she had detention tomorrow night anyway," Harry said. "Try-outs are being held tomorrow morning - haven't I told you?"

"Oh, right," Ron said. "How many people are trying out again?"

"Not really sure at the moment," Harry shrugged. "I haven't taken a look at the list."

As it turned out, there were several people who I didn't recognize that were on that list which only meant that my chances were slimmer than they were the year before. Then again, I was basically chosen by default, so I guess it wasn't all that fair to compare.

Of course, seeing that there would be more competition than he expected, Ron became more nervous by the second. It wasn't something that I hadn't expected, but it certainly gave me a better understand of why he wanted me to be there. He just didn't want to have to do this alone and probably figured that he would feel better if he was rejected if I was rejected too.

"You shouldn't worry about it Ron," Neville said in the common room that evening. "You did good last year - won the trophy, didn't you?"

"Hardly," Ron scoffed. "It was only by luck that I got on the team - and there are so many other people trying out for my position. They must have thought that I was lousy and know that I won't be much of a competition..."

"Are you really going to do this right now?" I sighed and sank into the couch next to him. "Stop sulking, would you? You're a fantastic addition to the team and you won't make it with that attitude."

"Fine," Ron muttered. "Would you practice with me before the try-outs?"

"I guess," I shrugged.

"How about right now?" Ron asked.

"Ron - I have to be in Snape's office in fifteen minutes," I said. "Detention, remember?"

"Oh, sorry," Ron grimaced.

Once Harry and Hermione joined our little group, Ron immediately changed the subject. Apparently he didn't want his best friend to know that he had his doubts about making the team. After all, that would only put more pressure on Harry in choosing him and that wouldn't have been that fair. Unfortunately, now that we were actually relaxed, I looked up at the clock to realize that my time had passed quicker than I wanted it to.

"I guess I'll see you later," I sulked as I stood up.

"It'll be okay," Hermione said. "It's your last day - after today you'll be free again."

"Until she decides to go off on him again," Harry laughed.

"I really don't do it that often," I pointed out.

"Yes you do," Ron said. "Snape just doesn't always give you detention for it."

Even though he had a valid point, I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room despite my hopes of dragging this out as long as possible so I could delay my time for detention. Then again, it probably wouldn't work out too well if I showed up late to my final detention.

Only minutes later I was standing in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room with a mop in my hand as I scrubbed through the grime that lay on the floor. Part of me wondered if he purposely made the room dirty so I would have something to do because it was never this dirty when I was in the classroom. I guess it passed the time though and it was certainly better than writing lines, but I had a feeling that he didn't like that method any more because of what Umbridge made us do last year with the lines.

Snape didn't utter a word to me until I finished up the entire room, something that proved to be difficult with the mess that Snape purposely made for me. When he walked around and inspected the room, I half expected him to pull out a white glove and made sure there wasn't a spot of dirt like Aunt Petunia does to me back at Privet Drive.

"Excellent job," he finally said.

"You mean I didn't miss a spot?" I muttered as I thought back to every other day in here where he pointed out my mistakes.

"Would you like another day for your smart mouth?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No - sir," I added after a second.

"I didn't think so," he murmured. "I hope you've learned your lesson in here."

"If I say yes, does that mean I can leave?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes and tried his best to look annoyed, but I noticed a hint of a smile on his face as he did it. He finally nodded signally I could leave and I walked over to gather my bag from a table and started to walk to the door.

"I didn't hurt you on purpose, Emily," Snape said suddenly.

I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face him where he now stood behind his desk. He wouldn't look me in the eye and he nearly looked ashamed of something. Was it because he actually talked to me like I was a person or was it because this was his form of an apology for something.

"What are you talking about?" I asked softly as I took a step back toward him.

"During our first lesson on nonverbal spells," he continued as he casually flipped through some papers on his desk. "My intention was not to cause you harm. I was trying to help you and it didn't work."

"I didn't think that you were trying to hurt me," I replied.

"Yes you did," Snape said. "And I would have thought the same if I were you."

"But I trust you enough to know the truth," I said as I adjusted my bag on my back.

"Of course you do," he murmured with a look of pain.

"Thank you for telling me this," I said slowly.

"You should go up to bed," he said without looking at me. "It's getting late and I have other work I need to do."

"Right, of course," I nodded. "Good night."

"Sleep well," he said.

The next morning I told Harry, Ron, and Hermione what happened the night before regarding what Snape told me. Naturally Harry and Ron didn't believe a word that was said, but I hardly expected them to considering their hatred for the man.

"Just because he told you that it was an accident doesn't mean that it was," Harry said. "He knew that you weren't ready for that and he did it anyway - he wanted to hurt you."

"He told me that it was an accident," I explained.

"So are you just going to believe everything he tells you again?" Ron sighed. "I liked it better when you wanted to knock him in the head."

When the owls came overhead, I was happy to see that I had a new letter from George in Hoot's claws. As soon as he dropped it of front of my plate, it stole some of the pumpkin juice from my glass and took off with a slice of bread that was sitting on Neville's plate nearby.

"Sorry about that," I apologized to him.

"Wasn't going to eat it anyway," Neville shrugged.

I ripped open the envelope and began reading right away.

_Emily,_

_I couldn't imagine that Snape was trying to kill you. The two of you have always gotten along in the past - even though it makes absolutely no sense to me - and I don't think he's suddenly changed his mind and plans on killing you. Try not to worry about it, I'm sure he was just having a bad first day or something. _

_So Snape finally got the job, eh? Who'd he have to kill to get that one? Only joking, but I don't know about that guy Slughorn. Mum and Dad told me that he was a bit strange when he taught them too and he was always obsessed with meeting people that were either famous or destined to be - I suppose that makes up for his lack of accomplishments in his own life. I don't know, maybe it'll just take some time to get used to all of it. _

_The family back here says hello and mum informed me that you are going to be having Quidditch try-outs soon - Ginny told her. So are you trying out this year? I thought you did good last year and I hope you do because being a Beater is a clever way to get your anger out and all. If you don't try, oh well - but if you do then the best of luck. _

_Now hurry up and get on holiday, would you? _

_Love, George_

_"_Wonderful," Hermione said next to me. "Now you can turn that awful book in.

I looked up and realized I tuned in late to the conversation that was happening with the other three. In Harry's hands I noticed a brand new Advanced Potions book sitting in front of him and a look of disappointment on my brother's face.

"Hermione, you're mad," Ron said. "He isn't just going to return in now, are you Harry?"

"I don't really want to," Harry admitted.

"Then just give them the new book," Ron shrugged. "I'm sure that Slughorn wouldn't mind having an unused book."

Harry nodded and went back to his food just as Hermione began to protest.

"I cannot believe you are going to do that!" Hermione said. "You realize that the book is helping you to cheat, right?"

"Oh, come off it," Ron said. "You're just angry that he's doing better than you."

"Emily, you agree with me - don't you?" she asked in desperation.

"Well..." I said hesitantly. "I don't think that you're wrong, but I know there isn't any convincing we can do to make him give up the book."

"It isn't fair!" Hermione said. "Emily and I work hard to do good in that class and you just look in that awful book and - "

"Which is why you can't understand my point," Harry said. "I'm horrible in that class - I need the help."

"We can help you study," Hermione said.

"Hermione, no one studies here except you," Ron rolled his eyes.

"But - " Hermione started.

"Don't we need to be going to the Quidditch pitch?" I asked as I looked up at the clock.

"Yeah, we should probably be there first," Harry said.

I didn't get the chance to write a response then, but I decided that I would reply after we finished our Quidditch try-outs. I'm sure I'd have plenty to talk about then with all the crazies that were trying out this year.

"Good luck!" Hermione shouted to us as we walks out of the Great Hall. "I'll be down in a minute!"

I made my way out to the Quidditch pitch with Harry, Ron, and Ginny. We were the first ones there, but I didn't expect to be there alone with them for any length of time - I was told that it was common practice for the players trying out to show up early to make a good impression.

"Is there anyone else trying out for the Keeper position?" I asked Ginny once Ron and Harry were far enough away.

"A few actually," Ginny sighed. "I just hope that Ron doesn't over think it. He always does badly when he's nervous."

"Are they any good - the other players, I mean," I asked.

"Not really sure to be honest," she shrugged. "I hope not for Ron's case, but I can't be positive."

People began to come out onto the field gradually and eventually everyone showed up. I was surprised at just how many people were there - there had to be about thirty or forty at best. Not that I was an expert on what happened during try-outs, but I had a feeling that this was way more people than usual.

"Good afternoon everyone," Harry greeted the crowd. "Thank you all for coming, we're going to start by sorting you all into the position that you're trying out for..."

He went on with his speech for a bit before we all divided into the groups that we would try-out in. Since there were so many of us there, I figured that this was going to take a while. I didn't recognize some people in my group, but by the looks of them the majority of them were obnoxious second years who giggled every time Harry walked by.

"You're Emily Potter, right?" a familiar looking guy in my group asked me.

"Er - yeah," I answered. "You were in Slughorn's compartment when we got to Hogwarts, weren't you?"

"That's right," he smiled. "I'm Cormac McLaggen and I'm trying out for the Keeper position."

I immediately thought of Ron as I smiled and shook his hand. All I could hope was that this guy was really bad, but he seemed a little too confident in himself to be someone who was a bad player.

"So have you tried out before?" I asked in attempt to get information.

"I was going to last year, but I got sick and couldn't make it," he explained. "I'm really hoping I get it this year - I've been practicing all summer."

"Oh, great," I said with false enthusiasm.

"You were pretty good last year," Cormac said. "You probably won't have any trouble getting back onto the team - especially since your brother is the captain."

"That doesn't guarantee me a spot," I said. "And having my brother as captain seriously doesn't give me the advantage - Harry isn't like that."

"I didn't mean that disrespectfully," he said quickly.

"Eh, don't worry about it," I waved it off.

I looked back up at the field and saw Ginny zooming around after the Quaffle on the field. There was no doubt that she was the best one on the field and I was positive that she would make a position in the team.

"So who's your friend that came to watch?" he asked after a moment.

"What - who?" I asked as I followed his eyes into the stands. "Do you mean Hermione?"

"Hermione," he said with a smile. "Does she have a boyfriend or anything?"

"Well...no," I said hesitantly. "Why?"

"Just wondering," he said casually. "I'll talk to you later."

"Right," I said as he walked to talk to the other members of the group.

I looked from Cormac, to Ron, to Hermione and let out a sigh. The sad part of this all was that I knew for a fact that Cormac was going to make a move on Hermione and Ron, who Hermione was really interested in, wasn't going to do the same. Part of me wondered how Ron would react, but maybe it would give him the push that he needed to say something to Hermione. Honestly, who did those two think they were kidding? They are mad for each other and neither of them would say anything.

Suddenly I heard a voice behind me and I nearly jumped in surprise at the sound of it so close to me.

"Fancy meeting you here, Emily."

I closed my eyes, instantly knowing who this awful person was: Andrew Kirke was here to ruin my day. He stepped next to me with a wide grin on his face as Ron stepped up to show off some of his skills as a Keeper. All I could do was cross my arms and hope that he would go away if I didn't converse with him, but I found it extraordinarily hard to not be a smart mouth.

"It's Quidditch try-outs," I said with an eye roll. "Why wouldn't I be here?"

"I thought you only took the position last year to fill in for your little boyfriend," Andrew said.

"My _little_ boyfriend would kick your ass if he knew you were talking to me," I scoffed.

"What Georgie doesn't know won't hurt him," he said with a wink.

"And if you continue to speak to me, you won't have to worry about him kicking your ass because I'll step up and do it myself," I said without breaking eye contact with the Quaffle that was being tossed at the rings.

"Don't be like that," he said. "What does it matter if you have a little fun - it isn't like he's here to see it."

"Don't you get that I'm not interested?" I retorted.

"I think I can change that," he smirked.

"I can assure you that you cannot," I sternly said. "I would never leave George."

"Why not - it isn't like you're married," Andrew said.

"Marriage is just a certificate," I said. "Besides, I'm not even old enough."

"So a little flirting couldn't hurt if there's nothing permanent between you two."

"How would you know what's permanent and what's not?" I asked.

"I'm saying that you have no strings attached to him," Andrew said.

"Leave me alone."

I was seriously starting to get annoyed. Why was he so persistent when he knew that he didn't have a chance with me? I was with George and there was nothing he could do to change that - I just wish that I could think of something that I could say that would keep him away from me for good, but there wasn't. I should have lied and said we were engaged, but it was too late for that and he would know that I was lying.

"Oh come on - " he started.

That's when I thought of it. It only took me a split second and I blurted it out without even thinking about what I was saying.

"I'm pregnant with George's child - is that good enough for you?" I spat.

His jaw dropped at once and his face went red. I don't know what he was expecting to come out of my mouth, but it definitely wasn't that. To be honest, it probably wasn't my best line, but I knew for a fact that it would keep him away from me.

"Okay Emily - you're group is up!" Harry called.

Without even looking at Andrew, I stepped onto the field once more and took off on my broomstick. I didn't speak to Andrew for the remainder of the try-out and I had a feeling that I wouldn't be for a long while now.

By the end of try-outs, I was happy to hear that I made the team as a Beater again. The even better news, in my opinion, was that Andrew didn't make the team on account of jumping off his broom when the Bludger came toward him. Instead of him, Harry chose a third year boy named Jimmy Peakes that I'd never actually met before. Ginny and Katie Bell were chosen as Chasers along with a girl that I recognized, but I never actually caught her name. The only player that hasn't been chosen was the Keeper. From what I could tell the race was between Cormac, who turned out to be really good, and Ron, who seemed to be twitching from nervousness.

To pass some time while Harry ushered some of the people off of the field to make room for the final decision on who was going to be Keeper, I stepped up into the stands to talk to Hermione.

"How is Ron doing down there?" Hermione asked when I found my seat.

"Well," I said slowly. "Before I came up here, I went to wish him good luck and he started throwing up on the ground next to the locker rooms. Does that give you a better view?"

"Oh no," Hermione sighed. "He was doing so good earlier - I hope this doesn't effect him..."

Harry had Ron to first this time and everyone in the stands now knew that it was between Cormac and him. In other words, the pressure was now on.

"Come on Ron - you can do it!"

I raised an eyebrow as I heard Lavender Brown yelling this from a few rows away. She was sitting with Pavarti Patil and she seemed to be on the edge of her seat with a cheesy smile on her face as she held up her "Ron Weasley for Keeper" poster up.

"What's up with her?" I asked Hermione.

"No idea," Hermione said as she glared at Lavender. "She's been doing that for a while."

Maybe I would have just brushed it off if it were anyone else, but it really irked me that Lavender was suddenly interested in Ron. Honestly, anything Lavender did got on my nerves ever since last year where she completed outcasted me and purposely mocked me behind my back.

Just then Ginny motioned for me to come over and meet her down next to the locker rooms. I waved to Hermione and walked back down so I could get a closer look at what was going on. As I turned out, most of the people who were trying out had the same idea along with some of the people who didn't even make the team - I noticed this of course when I saw Andrew glaring at me in the back of the crowd.

Surprisingly enough, even though he looked extraordinarily nervous up in the air, Ron managed to block five throws that were thrown toward the hoops. It wasn't until Cormac stepped up that I got really nervous.

When the first Quaffle was thrown at him, he blocked it with ease and had a cocky grin on his face as he hit the next two away from him. Just as the fourth one was blocked, I began to lose all hope and got tempted to cover my eyes as the fifth one was thrown at him.

"He missed it!" Ginny said in shock next to me.

I looked back up and saw the mortified look on Cormac's face as he landed back on the field. All of us raced over to Harry when he landed to hear what his decision was. When Ron caught up to us, his face was pale and he didn't seem to have the ability to speak as he waited for Harry's answer.

"Well, I guess that's it," Harry said as he looked from Ron to Cormac. "Ron blocked more, so I guess he made the position. Sorry Cormac - you did great."

"Yeah, wonderful," Cormac muttered as he angrily stomped away from us all.

"Congratulations to you all," Harry addressed the newly named team. "I look forward to practicing with you all."

We all cheered and I separately congratulated each of the new members and even learned the third Chasers name - Demelza. But out of everyone in the bunch, Ron seemed to be the most proud person in the ground. Hermione ran onto the field and gave him a hug and he seemed to brighten up even more after that. Everything seemed to be going right until I noticed a grave expression on Harry's face as he marched away from a smug looking Andrew Kirke.

"What's wrong?" I asked him as he grabbed onto my arm and pulled me off to the side - something that caught the attention of a lot of people.

"When the hell were you planning on telling me you were pregnant?"

* * *

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	14. Rumor Has It

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 14**

My mind went blank and I could only see Harry's angered expression on me as the entire crowd stared at the two of us in confusion and awe.

"W-what?" I stammered.

"So it's true, isn't it?" Harry said angrily. "I'm going to kill him - he's in Diagon Alley, isn't he?"

Harry flipped around and started walking quickly in the other direction. There was a murmur behind me that I could clearly make out the words "she's pregnant" through everything. Not even bothering explaining myself to these people, I immediately began to chase after Harry after I recoiled from shock.

"Harry - what are you doing?" I shouted as we neared the castle doors - I never realized how quickly he moved until now.

"Going to Diagon Alley to show your boyfriend a piece of my mind," he seethed. "How could you do this? I thought you were more responsible than this! Why - "

"I'm not pregnant!" I said as I grabbed onto his arm and stopped him in the hallway.

"Andrew already told me," Harry said angrily. "He said that you told him you were carrying George's child."

"It was a lie," I explained. "I was just trying to get him away from me - just calm down!"

"Calm down?" he said. "I was just told that my sister was pregnant and - wait, how do I even know if you're lying to me?"

"Seriously?" I asked, now getting more irritated by the second. "You're going to take Andrew Kirke's word over mine?"

"Why would you lie about something like that?" he asked, seeming to be slightly more relieved. "That's serious, Emily. You realize he's going to spread that around the entire school, right?"

"Yeah, because another rumor is really going to kill me," I rolled my eyes. "It's not the first time a lie has gone around the school about me."

Harry let out a sigh and rubbed his temples at the same time. His mind was probably going out of control right now. To be honest, I wanted to beat him over the head for calling me irresponsible because it wasn't really his place to decide that, but I figured that he was just being protective or something and I brushed it off.

"You should know that I nearly had a heart attack," he sighed.

"How was I supposed to know that he was going to do that?" I asked. "He was probably mad that I made the team and he didn't so he was trying to get you pissed at me."

"Well, it worked," he said.

"Judging by that little scene, I think I can safely say that you were more pissed with George than with me," I pointed out.

"No, it would just be easier for me to kill him instead of you," he muttered. "Do me a favor and just don't get pregnant before you're married - actually, just don't sleep with him until you're married."

"Er - right," I said hesitantly and I could feel the blood leaving my face.

Harry raised his eyebrow and looked at me curiously for a moment. Then he shook his head and scratched his head as he attempted to avoid my eyes.

"You already have, haven't you?" he sighed.

"I'm not having this conversation with you," I said.

"Fine, I don't really want to know anyway," Harry said.

Harry just shook his head and refused to meet my eyes. From what I could tell, he was still agitated about the whole ordeal, but he seemed significantly calmer now that he knew that I wasn't actually pregnant. The only problem now was that everyone on the field heard what Harry said and I expected that everyone was going to be under the assumption I was pregnant by the end of the day. Oh well, it wasn't like it was the first lie that's been spread about me at this school.

Since we had made ourselves so late for dinner, we both decided to skip it all together and just go to our dormitory. Unfortunately, we didn't make it there without interruption. Much to my dismay, Slughorn was seen waddling around the corner. I tried to jump into an adjoining hall before he noticed me, but I had no luck.

"Ah - the Potters!" Slughorn said with excitement. "I was just talking to Professor Flitwick about the two of you."

"That's wonderful," I said with a sad attempt to cover my sarcasm.

"Were you?" Harry said trying to cover up my sarcastic comment. "About what exactly?"

"How well the two of you are in my class," he smiled as he finally caught up to us with some heavy breathing. "I expected brilliance from you, Emily - Professor Snape spoke most highly of you when I took over. Said you were the best in his class."

"He did?" I blinked.

"Like you're surprised," Harry laughed. "You're brilliant - don't act like you're not."

"I have to agree," Slughorn cheerfully said. "But I had no idea that you did so well in this class, Harry. I'd venture to say that you were my best student."

It was horrible for me to think it, but a flash flew through me like I had just been burnt. It would have been one thing if Harry had managed to achieve this on his own, but he was only using the book to his advantage to get ahead of us all. I shouldn't be so jealous of his achievements, but I couldn't help it.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said.

"Indeed," Slughorn nodded. "Now, I was hoping to meet with the two of you after dinner today, does that sound good?"

"Oh - er," I hesitated.

"I can't," Harry said. "I have detention with Snape this evening."

"Emily?" Slughorn asked hopefully.

"Right, well..." I stammered. "I have to work on my homework - I'm practically buried in it."

"That's a shame," Slughorn sighed. "Perhaps I could have a talk with old Severus - I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you came over."

"I don't know about that," Harry muttered.

"I'll see you two later," he waved as he continued to waddle out of the area.

Right as he walked off, Harry and I quickly began to put distance between ourselves and our newest Potions professor. I knew that he was being nice, but for some reason he just freaked me out. He made me feel as though I was some sort of exhibit he saw at the zoo that he desperately wanted in his possession.

"I forgot that you had detention," I told Harry as we reached the top of a flight of stairs. "At least it gets you out of a meeting with Slughorn."

"I can't really tell what's worse right now," Harry considered. "Snape or Slughorn...it's almost an even match."

"I'd rather live with the Dursleys for the remainder of my life than deal with that man," I muttered.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Harry laughed.

We were just turning a corner when I heard quick footsteps behind me. When I turned my head, I saw a disgruntled looking Snape walking behind me and away from Draco Malfoy who was walking the other way.

"Emily Potter - my office," Snape demanded. "Now."

Harry waved to me and quickly walked away without any indication that he wanted to help me out on this one. I would have to remind myself of this moment when we were on the Quidditch field and I had a bat in my hand.

My eyes were widened and my mind suddenly flew through everything that I'd done that day to figure out what I could have possibly done to make him so angry with me. Nothing immediately came to mind, so I was as clueless as the next person as I stepped into his candlelit office. He was glaring at me with an expression that could only be described as being distraught and sickened.

"What did I do this time?" I sighed as I sat down.

"You're pregnant," he said at once.

"Wait a minute - " I started with slight amusement.

"This isn't funny," he spoke over me. "So wipe that smile off your face and listen to me."

"But - " I tried.

"Emily, I don't even know where to begin with this," he sighed as he put his face in his hands. "You should know that I am not at all pleased by the situation, but I am just going to assume that you've gotten that lecture by your brother, am I wrong?"

"Well, not exactly," I said honestly thinking back to Harry's anger. "But you should know that I'm not - "

"Have you thought about your future at all?" he asked over me in an aggressive tone. "Do you realize the responsibilities you will have to take on as a parent? This is going to put an enormous strain on you and it's going to be the most difficult thing you will have to do."

"First of all, you don't have children - how would you even know?" I pointed out. "And furthermore - "

"I know I don't have children," he retorted. "But that doesn't mean that I don't know how they function."

"That's great," I muttered. "But my point is that I'm not - "

"I didn't only bring you in here to tell you how idiotic you have been," he said.

"That's great - wait a minute, idiotic?" I asked just realizing he insulted me.

"This isn't going to be easy on you, Emily," Snape said as he looked directly at me. "Even though I am resisting a strong urge to smack you and your boyfriend in the head, I want you to know that I will try my hardest to help you. I can't imagine that many people will try to help you in a time like this, but I want you to know that you can come to me for anything regarding this."

I was rendered speechless. How was this man, who had just practically disowned me, suddenly trying to support me and take on a role that he wasn't even being asked to take on. Even though this entire conversation meant nothing because of the fact that the initial problem didn't even exist, I felt a sudden warmth for Snape that I hadn't felt all year.

"Thank you," I said softly. "It really means a lot that you would want to help, but I'm not pregnant."

Snape blinked and sat back in his chair with a confused expression. It was a little awkward now that he just told me that I had his full support and I was just telling him that he wasted his breath. Even so, I really was grateful.

"What?" he breathed sounding both relieved and slightly lost.

"I'm not pregnant," I said. "It was all a lie."

"Why would you lie about being pregnant?" he asked.

"It's a really dumb reason actually," I sighed. "Some guy wouldn't leave me alone, so I told him I was pregnant to get him away from me - who told you anyway?"

"Who was this boy?" he asked while completely ignoring my question.

"Andrew Kirke," I said quickly.

"Right," he nodded as he scribbled something down on a piece of parchment that sat in front of him. "Draco Malfoy told me, to answer your question."

"Draco?" I grunted. "Oh wonderful. I guess the whole school knows by now."

"It's your own fault," Snape said.

"Thanks for pointing that out," I muttered.

He snickered and then there was a moment of silence. The fact that I was brought in here to discuss my false pregnancy and shot down Snape's offer to help because of lack of child was weighing down on us like a weight. Just when I thought it was getting awkward, we both stood up at once and looked at each other expectantly.

"Well, I guess that - " we both said at once.

I stopped talking, hoping that he would have some reason that I could leave without making the situation any more awkward than it had already become. Unfortunately, both of us were thinking similarly and we both were silently waiting for the other to speak up.

"Yeah - er - I have some...papers to grade," he said as he shuffled around his desk in attempt to find something.

"Right, I guess I should leave," I said with a forced smile. "Thanks for the talk..."

"Thank you for not being pregnant," he murmured as he sat down with a strained look on his face.

"I'll try to keep it that way," I said.

"Try?" he asked as he jerked his head up and looked at me. "What do you mean you will try not to get pregnant?"

"I didn't - " I tried to explain.

"I can assure you that I will go to Azkaban for murdering George Weasley if anything like this happens again," he said darkly. "Is that clear?"

"Crystal," I squeaked.

"Now go to your dorm," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," I said quickly.

On my way back to the Gryffindor Tower, I could only worry about George's safety. It was hard to say who would kill him first if I were to ever actually get pregnant any time soon. Of course, I didn't actually plan on getting pregnant any time soon.

When I finally got past the Fat Lady, I walked into the room to find people murmuring amongst themselves. When they caught sight of me, they all suddenly became silent and I rolled my eyes. I looked around for Harry and I didn't see him so there wasn't any question on what they were talking about since he didn't fill them in.

"Okay - I know for a fact that you're all talking about me," I rolled my eyes. "Don't even try to act like you're not."

Lavender Brown scoffed in the corner next to Parvati and I did my best to give her my dirtiest look. Thankfully it was good enough to get her attention and make her look embarrassed.

"Have you told George yet?" Hermione asked as she rushed over to me.

"Of course I haven't told George," I said. "Because there isn't anything to tell - did you hear that everyone? I'm not pregnant - it was all a lie, tell your friends."

"A lie?" Ginny said as she went pale in the face.

"Wait a minute - are you saying that you lied to me?" Andrew spoke up.

"Of course I lied to you, you creep," I said. "When are you going to take a hint?"

"So you were never actually pregnant?" Neville asked.

"No, of course not," I said. "Do you honestly think I could have kept a secret like that for that long."

Everyone in the room started talking again and I got a small sense of relief that the truth was out now. Andrew seemed to be moping around in the corner with a face redder than a tomato. The only person that seemed to still look the least bit concerned was Ginny was staring off into space.

"Ginny?" I asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"Emily - I'm so sorry," I said. "I wasn't thinking."

"What did you do?" I asked as I sat next to her.

"I already sent a letter to my mum," she murmured quietly. "I didn't know what to do - I panicked.

"You did what?" I asked in dismay. "Why on Earth would you do that?"

"She was trying to help," Hermione explained. "We thought that she might be able to help since she has so many children."

"But this only happened earlier today - what made you think that this was up to you anyway?"

"We were trying to help," Ginny said. "I am so sorry - really!"

"She's going to murder you," Ron shook his head. "I tried to stop them - "

"No, you didn't," Neville said.

"Shut up, Longbottom!" Ron said.

"Don't yell at Neville, you should have stopped them!" I said. "You always try to stop everyone from doing anything - what stopped you this time?"

"Leave Ron alone - he isn't a part of this!"

My eyes darted up to see Lavender Brown standing up and looking directly at me with the most hostile expression.

"What does this matter to you?" I scoffed. "You aren't a part of this anyway, so why don't you butt out?"

"Because you're being a rude to Ron and I'm not going to allow that!" Lavender said.

Everyone in the room was looking from Lavender to me and I couldn't tell who was more confused about what was going on - everyone else or me.

"Since when are you Ron's spokesperson?" I asked.

"Er - well," she stammered.

"Exactly," I said and then turned back to the people I was talking to. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted: why did you rush to tell your mother? Did you want me dead?"

"No, I'm really sorry - " Ginny said helplessly.

"Okay, I get it," I said while rubbing my temples. "Now could you do me a favor and write her and tell her it's a lie before she reads it and comes after George and me?"

"Right - of course," Ginny quickly said as she searched for some parchment and ran off to the Owlery.

I plopped back into my chair and just covered my face with my hands and let out a sigh. Why did I have to pull the I'm-Pregnant card to get a guy away from me? This really was one of the dumbest things that I'd done, and that was saying something.

"I kind of feel bad for George now," Ron said. "Better hope that he's far away from Mum when she gets that first letter."

"I cannot believe this is happening," I mumbled.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have gone off and told someone you were pregnant," Hermione said. "There are so many other things you could have said."

"You think that I don't realize that now," I said. "I just wasn't thinking, okay? I just wanted him to get away from me because he's a creep that won't leave me alone."

There was a moment of silence where everyone just looked around at each other. No one really knew what to say and I was now more concerned about what Mrs. Weasley was going to do when she receives the news of my false pregnancy. Who would she kill first: George or me?

* * *

It wasn't until two days later that things began to wind down with the rumors. We had already returned to class by then and I was getting less looks by the day, thankfully the rumor of my pregnancy had quickly diminished once I cleared it up in the common room earlier. Although I was still wondering if this was a good or bad sign, I still hadn't received anything from Mrs. Weasley - something that made me a little uneasy to say the least.

"Maybe she's just confused about the situation," Ginny suggested. "It sort of happened really quickly."

"That or she's digging up a proper hole for you both," Ron said.

"That's not funny, Ronald," Hermione said.

Now that my own personal turmoil was going away, I could now focus more clearly on what was happening. For instance, I noticed that Harry was spending way more time with that Potions book than I thought was healthy for him. Although I didn't say anything to him personally, I had a few conversations with Hermione about my concerns for that book.

"Would you put that book away," Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry. "We're in Charms class, you know?"

Harry started muttering to himself as he carefully placed the battered, old book into his bag and sat back as Hermione continued to practice the spell that we were given. As usual, we were being told to perform some simple, nonverbal spells until we understood how to do them. Thanks to Hermione, I had nearly mastered the skill with some minor spells.

"What does it matter that I read that book anyway?" Harry asked suddenly, obviously still upset about being told to put it away.

"Because you're with that thing more than you're with us," I said. "There's this crazy thing called communicating with your peers - why don't you try it out once in a while?"

"I do talk," he grumbled.

"Yeah, when you don't have your nose pressed up in that book of yours," I pointed out.

"Like you haven't spent too much time reading Potions books," he accused. "You're constantly reading them over during the summer holiday."

"What else is there to do - have a chat with Uncle Vernon?" I asked. "Besides, it's different with you - you don't even like the original content of the book, it's only what's added to it that you care about."

"So?" he asked.

"I just think this Prince character is a little strange, that's all," Hermione commented. "Have you ever thought about who it might be?"

"No idea," Harry shrugged. "It had to be someone incredibly good with Potions though."

"Well, obviously," I said.

"Maybe I could go to the library and see if I find anything on Prince," Hermione suggested.

"Of course you think of the library," Ron said.

When the bell rang for lunch period, we all quickly exited and made our way down to the Great Hall. Unfortunately, I didn't make it there because I found myself standing in front of an owl that found me in the hallway.

"That's odd - why didn't it just wait for you to get into the Great Hall," Hermione said.

"I think I know why," Ron said as he pointed to its feet.

It felt like all the blood in my face had left when I saw the red envelope in its claws. On the front, written very elegantly was my name, but I already knew that what was on the inside wasn't going to be as pleasant as the handwriting.

"You might as well get it over with," Ron said.

I reached for it and the owl flew off within seconds. For a moment, I envied the bird's ability to have a quick escape from the room as I stared down at the envelope in horror. After a moments hesitation, I slowly opened it up and my hands flew to my ears as Molly Weasley's words echoed around the room.

_EMILY POTTER, HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE? I THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE SMARTER THAN THIS - HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DEAL WITH A CHILD AT YOUR AGE? YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DROP OUT OF SCHOOL AND BE FORCED TO GIVE UP YOUR ENTIRE LIFE BECAUSE OF THIS! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING TRYING TO BRING A CHILD INTO A WORLD LIKE THIS WITH YOU-KNOW-WHO ON THE RUN AND - wait, what is this?_

There was a short moment of silence where I noticed the entire room staring at us with expressions of mixed embarrassment and amusement at my horror.

_YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT THIS WAS ALL A LIE? YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK, EMILY POTTER! DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS THE END OF THIS - WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A TALK AS SOON AS YOU GET BACK TO MY HOUSE._

When the letter burst into flames in front of us, the entire room began to liven up again as students continued walking around. It took me a moment to wrap my head around what she said, but I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about what she was going to talk to me about during our holiday.

"Was that George's mother?" a misty voice asked.

Luna Lovegood walked around us and stopped when we could all see her. Her eyes were glazed over and she was looking at us all with a small smile on her face.

"Yes," I answered.

"You should have known she would react badly," Luna nodded. "But it's a shame that it's all a lie, it would have been nice to have a baby around."

"No, it wouldn't," Harry said while throwing me a dark look. "It can wait a while."

"Message received," I said as I looked away from him.

"Well, good luck," Luna waved to us.

Even though her appearance was brief, it still left me wondering what it was like to have a mind like hers. It was like she had no care in the world and just drifted around wherever she felt like it.

"She's insane," Ron said.

"Being insane isn't always a bad thing," I shrugged.

Now with all the shock gone from Mrs. Weasley's letter, we continued walking to our lunch with a new lesson in my mind: choose your words carefully because what you say can spread like wildfire.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I know this was a completely random spin, but I thought it would be interesting to have Hogwarts deal with a rumor about Emily that didn't have to do with Voldemort. I know a lot of people that told me that they would be interested in seeing how some people would react if Emily were to get pregnant, and I felt that this would be an interesting way to show that without having her actually pregnant. I thank EmInsane for help on this idea and I hope that you all have a good day! I'll try to have the next chapter up within the next week!**

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	15. A Trip to Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 15**

It wasn't until a week and a half later that I finally got a letter from George. To be honest, I was expecting a lot more of a message than what I got considering what Ginny had sent his mother about my fake pregnancy, but the message was brief and it almost bothered me.

_Emily,_

_Heard you're going to Hogsmeade this weekend - meet me at the Three Broomsticks._

_Love, George_

Did that mean that he was angry at me, or was it something else. If it hadn't been for the Howler that I received from his mother than I probably wouldn't have worried as much, but I was practically shaking from anxiety.

"Do you think that he'll break up with me?" I asked Hermione on the morning of the trip.

"I think that you're thinking about it too much," Hermione said. "Maybe he had too much to talk about in the letter or he was too busy or something."

"He's never given me a letter that short though," I said. "It's just worrying me, that's all."

"Just try not to panic," she advised.

When the time finally came around for the trip, I was biting my nails. It was hard to be so anxious about meeting with my boyfriend when I was so excited to see him after such a long period without him. Luckily I didn't have to make the trip completely alone because Harry, Ron, and Hermione were going to be going to the Three Broomsticks as well.

"Emily - could you please talk some sense into your brother," she said suddenly as we walked toward Hogsmeade.

"W-what?" I asked, not really following the conversation.

"She keeps telling me that I need to get rid of this book," Harry said.

"Haven't we already had this conversation?" I sighed. "Hermione, he isn't going to give the book up. I know I wouldn't if I were getting free tips that made me top of the class."

"You don't need any extra help," Harry added.

I smiled and Hermione glared at us both. Ron seemed to be siding with Harry on this one - like that was any different from usual.

"But you didn't see what just happened in the dormitory," Hermione said. "When you went to the bathroom, Harry used a spell on Ron that he found in that horrible book."

"What spell?" I asked.

"It wasn't a legal one," she explained. "It was one that the Half-Blood Prince made up and wrote in the book."

"Wait, are you saying that this Prince guy invented a spell all on his own?" I asked.

"Yes, and it's dangerous!" Hermione said. "I'm sure that there is a reason that the spell wasn't approved by the Ministry."

"You sound like Umbridge with all this Ministry-approved material, Hermione," Ron said. "And it isn't like it killed me - it only hung me upside down."

"You two are unbelievable," Hermione rolled her eyes. "You practically worship this guy and you don't even know his real name. He could be a Death Eater for all you know!"

"That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" Ron asked. "You can't just assume that he's a Death Eater - you don't know him either."

"My point is that you should be careful," Hermione said.

"And I am being careful," Harry said.

"I don't consider using spells without knowing their purpose careful," Hermione said.

The conversation sort of diminished after that. Not that it was really going to make a difference what anyone said to those boys because they were just going to do what they wanted to do in the end.

When we finally arrived in Hogsmeade, we made a direct line to the Three Broomsticks. As soon as we got in there, I looked around the room and spotted an all too familiar red head sitting at a booth in the back of the place. He was drinking out of a mug and absentmindedly looking around the room. He didn't appear to be angry as I expected him to be, so I had some relief with that.

"Good luck," Hermione said to me quickly as she walked behind Harry and Ron to a table of their own.

I smiled at her as she walked off and then let out a breath as I stepped over to George's booth. When he caught my eye, he stood up and wiped his hands on his pants with a toothy smile on his face.

"Hey, babe," George winked.

He leaned down and kissed me for a minute before I took my seat across from him. He pushed over the butterbeer that he already bought for me. He had a smile on his face, but there was something grim about the way that he looked. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he was thinking about what his mother said to him about my fake pregnancy. If she was yelling at me for it, I could only imagine what she said to her own son.

"So...anything new?" I asked awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah," he said casually. "Got a new shipment of supplies for our products. Oh, and I managed to survive the attack of my mother because of a message she got from my sister."

"I'm sorry, George," I said. "I didn't mean for it to get out of hand - I was being incredibly stupid."

"You don't say?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why would you lie about a pregnancy like that? Did you actually think you were pregnant?"

"No, it wasn't anything like that," I tried to explain. "I only said it to get Andrew Kirke away from me - he wouldn't leave me alone."

"So you told him you were pregnant?" George asked in disbelief. "Why didn't you just say that we were getting married or something?"

"He knew that we weren't," I told him. "That's what he told me when he addressed me - he said that it wasn't like we were married or anything and I told him we weren't engaged."

George leaned his head into his hands and rubbed his eyes looking more stressed than I had ever seen him. He looked around the room and his face flushed when he looked behind me. I was about to ask what was wrong, but I turned and saw him having a stare-down with Harry who looked like he wanted to rip his head off.

"He's going to murder me," George mumbled as he looked down at the table.

"He nearly did when he thought I was pregnant," I said.

"You're not helping," George whimpered.

"He's not going to kill you," I said. "He just isn't exactly pleased that we've had sex. He's my brother - of course he wouldn't be happy with that."

"Obviously he's pissed off," George said while squirming a little. "He's practically glaring at my soul."

"George - we're ginger," I smirked. "We don't have souls."

"Oh yeah," he said with a small chuckle and a shake of the head.

He let out a sigh and took another drink from his butter beer. He looked a little more relieved than he did before I got here, but I still felt bad for making him like this - he was hardly ever this serious for this long.

"What did she say to you - your mother, I mean," I asked.

"Well, it was almost difficult to understand," George said as he leaned back into his chair. "There was a lot of screaming and I only got bits of it. Something about being irresponsible and that I was horrible to do this to you because you were so young - "

"She does realize that it takes two people, right?" I asked.

"I would hope she would after all of the children she's had," he said casually. "But I think that it was just her taking it out on me because you weren't in the room with me. Did she ever say anything to you?"

"Oh yes," I smirked. "She sent me a Howler."

"Did she really?" he asked in surprise. "She must have sent it after she stormed out of the room. Actually, now that you mention it I'm pretty sure that she said something along the lines of 'just wait until I talk to her.'"

"Did you really think I was pregnant?" I asked.

"For a bit, yeah," George said. "But Dad came and told me later that you had made it up for some reason."

"How did he react?" I asked. "I never heard from him."

"He didn't seem happy, but he didn't blow up on me," George said. "He seemed more concerned than anything."

"Really?" I asked. "I guess that isn't all that surprising. He doesn't seem like the kind to get too angry with anything."

"I wouldn't go that far," he smirked. "I've seen him mad plenty of times."

"I'm sure you have," I chuckled. "What about Fred, what did he say?"

"He was actually excited," George told me. "A little surprised at first, but I think that he was looking forward to being an uncle - said how great it would be to have a baby going around pulling tricks on people."

"That'd be amusing," I smiled. "Getting kids into trouble before they can even walk. No, but I think he would be an excellent uncle."

I honestly did believe that Fred would do an excellent job, there wasn't a doubt in my mind. Fred and George would have created the world's greatest prankster if I would have allowed it.

"So how are things at the school?" he asked. "Ginny mentioned that we were the school scandal for a bit."

"Everyone just looked at me funny," I told him. "Not many actually approached me on the situation, but it didn't last too long. I even managed to get a long talk with Snape about it."

George's face suddenly went pale again, but there was a hint of amusement as well.

"How did that go?" he asked. "I thought you weren't on speaking terms anymore."

"We aren't really," I said. "Draco Malfoy told him and I guess that it sparked his interest enough to talk to me about it. He seemed a bit angry at first, but he was surprisingly accepting with the idea of it toward the end of the conversation."

"Accepting?" George questioned.

"He offered his help," I said. "I almost felt bad telling him that it was a lie."

"Maybe we should get pregnant anyway," he grinned. "Give ol' Snape a baby to look after every now and then."

"That would be a laugh," I said. "I couldn't even imagine him around kids."

"I don't know," George said. "With the way he treated you when you were younger I couldn't see him doing to bad."

"Got a soft spot for Snape now, do you?" I laughed. "When did that start?"

"He was okay before he started being an ass to you," George shrugged. "Even though he hated everyone else on the planet."

"Don't worry, I'm being treated as an equal now," I sighed. "He hates me just like he does everyone else."

"Come on, don't be like that," George said. "Maybe he's just stressed out with his new job."

I shrugged and finished up the last bit of my butterbeer. Once we both finished up our drinks, we decided that it was about time that we made our way back up to the castle. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had already left before us and it was getting a little late to be staying out.

Just as George held onto my hand and opened up the door, I heard the loudest scream erupt from a little ways ahead of us. Eyes wide, we both looked at each other and took off together toward the sound of the scream.

"Katie!" someone screamed.

As soon as we turned the corner, my jaw dropped when I saw Katie Bell floating in air with an agonizing scream coming out of her throat. Surrounding her I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and another girl. Directly under Katie, I saw a small package that must have fallen when she was sent flying up.

"Someone get help!" Hermione yelled.

Harry ran off, but the rest of us were stuck in our positions with fear practically radiating off of us. What had caused this? The screaming never stopped until she finally fell to the ground with a thud and everyone raced over to see what was wrong.

"Don't touch her!"

Hagrid came hustling across the grounds of Hogsmeade with panic in his eyes. Every one of us backed away from Katie's limp body as Hagrid stood next to her.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"She must have been cursed," Hermione said. "But we don't know how."

"Who was with her?" he asked.

"Me, Leanne," the girl beside him said. "We were just walking out of the bathroom of the Three Broomsticks when I saw that she had it. She must have gotten it while she was in there, but I don't know who gave it to her."

"What was she doing with it?" I asked.

"She just kept saying that she had to deliver it to someone," Leanne continued. "She was acting strange, but she started to scream when the package ripped open."

"We need to get her to Madam Pomfrey," Hagrid said as she picked her up. "Someone get what she was holding, but don't touch what's in it."

Leanne grabbed a hold of the package and its contents and we quickly and quietly made our way back to the castle. It wasn't until we got there that we began to speak and it was only because we had run into McGonagall just after she had spoken to Hagrid.

"The six of you were there when this happened?" she asked.

"We only saw her in the air," I said while pointing to George and myself.

"Nonetheless," she nodded and then turned to Leanne. "What is that in your hand?"

"It's the necklace that was in the package," Leanne said shakily. "I've just wrapped it into a scarf so I couldn't touch it."

"Well you better take that to Professor Snape so he can take a look at it," Professor McGonagall ordered. "Go by the hospital wing as well. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey can give you something for shock once she has finished with Miss Bell."

Leanne nodded and hurried off around the corner leaving the five of us looking around at one another.

"Do you have any idea what happened prior to Miss Bell being thrown into the air?" McGonagall asked hopelessly.

"Someone gave her the necklace while she was in the bathroom," Hermione explained. "Leanne said that she didn't have it before they left the Three Broomsticks."

"I think I know who it was," Harry said suddenly.

Everyone suddenly looked at him in shock and confusion. How could he possibly have known who it was? Anything that he said was a complete guess as far as I was concerned and that only made me fear what he was going to say even more.

"Who?" Professor McGonagall asked in surprise.

"Draco Malfoy," Harry said. "I saw him in Borgin and Burkes and that's where I've seen that necklace before."

"Harry, you can't just accuse people like that," I said in horror. "He didn't even buy the necklace!"

"He didn't actually take out his purchase with him," Harry tried to explain.

"Do you have any evidence that supports that?" McGonagall asked with a grave expression.

"Well, not exactly, but - " Harry started.

"Then I'm not interested in hearing it," McGonagall insisted. "I have business that I need to attend."

"Maybe if we could talk to Dumbledore - " Harry began again.

"He's not in the castle," McGonagall silenced him. "He won't be back until Monday."

"Where has he gone?" I asked.

"That is none of your concern," McGonagall said. "Now I suggest that you go to your dormitories. Mr. Weasley, perhaps it's best that you return home."

With that, she walked out of sight without glancing back for even a second. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another and then at us before they walked off so I could say goodbye to George.

"What do you think that was about?" I asked him.

"No idea," George shrugged. "I don't know who would want to attack Katie."

"I don't think that it was meant for her," I said. "Didn't you hear what Leanne said - she said that it was supposed to be a surprise for someone else."

"Who do you think it was for?" George asked.

"No idea," I sighed. "And I don't know who could have done it either - Harry was too quick to guess it was Draco."

"It seems a bit harsh even for him," George said. "He's always been a little prick, but I don't know if he would actually try to pull off something like that. But who knows, it didn't work out too well and Malfoy isn't exactly the brightest."

"Do you really think it could have been him though?" I asked. "I didn't even see him come into Hogsmeade."

"Maybe the little ferret had someone else do it for him," he suggested. "I couldn't imagine that he likes to do his own dirty work - he's already suspicious enough as it is with his father in Azkaban for being a Death Eater."

"Maybe Katie will remember when she comes back to consciousness," I sighed. "That should sort things out."

"Hopefully, but she might not remember," George said.

"With a curse like that, you might be right," I said.

We stood there for a moment and let everything sink in, but it still didn't make sense. Who was the necklace meant for if it did that sort of damage? It couldn't have been someone that thought much into the act because it didn't even make it into the castle.

"I hate to do it, but I think I have to go," George sighed. "I'm pretty sure that if McGonagall sees me in here again then she'll kick me out herself."

"Promise you'll come back some other time?" I asked as he hugged me tightly.

"Of course," he squeezed me.

We held onto each other for a moment and then he kissed me. We were held together for a moment before we were both suddenly thrown apart when a large amount of water was dumped onto us.

"What the hell was that - oh," George said as he looked up and wiped the water off his face. "Peeves."

In times like this, I should have known that Peeves would have shown up. He just couldn't deal with not showing up at the wrong times. Then again, I don't think his appearance was ever really that appropriate.

"Thanks a lot, Peeves," I rolled my eyes.

"Good to see you, mate," George winked at the Poltergeist. "Keeping things up around here?"

"Sure thing, boss," Peeves said as he began to do circles around us and then flew off into the air.

We both watched as he flew around the staircase and listened as screams of surprise went around when he knocked over some things in the hallways.

"Never will change, will he?" George sighed. "Okay, well I'll see you during the holidays I guess."

"I love you, George," I smiled and kissed him again.

"Love you too, babe," he said to me. "Remember to write me, will you?"

"You know that I will," I answered.

I watched by the door as he walked off to Hogsmeade until he was out of sight. Once he was gone, I walked up the stairs in silence toward the Gryffindor common room thinking of everything that had happened today. The day had started off with me being concerned with something as simple as me thinking that George was angry with me and ended with an attack of a student.

It was obvious to me that Katie wasn't the one that was supposed to be hurt, but this fact didn't give me any comfort at all. What if she hadn't touched it and it had gotten to the person that it was intended for? The only person I could think that an outsider would want to attack would be Dumbledore, and what sort of state would we have been in if that had happened. I didn't mean that it was good that it had gotten Katie instead of someone like Dumbledore, but what was the purpose of all of this? Why was someone trying to attack Dumbledore _now_?

Whoever the person was that was trying to attack Dumbledore obviously attended Hogwarts, but who could it have been? If it was really Draco that had done it, then did that mean that he was attempting to kill Dumbledore? And did that mean that he really was a Death Eater like Harry was suggesting? I didn't want to believe that someone like Draco would try something like this, but he had been acting a little strange since the start of the school year. I could only hope that Harry was wrong about this, but I was having a sickening feeling that it made a lot of sense.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! The next chapter should be up sometime within the next week. Tell me what you think of the chapter or give me suggestions if you would like in the comment section below.**

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	16. The Young Tom Riddle

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 16**

It didn't take long for the entire school to figure out what happened in Hogsmeade and, naturally, hardly anyone had the story entirely right except for the people that were actually there and the few that got it directly from us. Rumors spread around the school like wildfire about who the person could have been that cursed Katie, but all of them were about as random as the next as the days went on. As usual, Harry was still stuck on the fact that it was Draco, but none of us were entirely sure.

"What do you think, Emily?" Hermione asked when we got away from Harry and Ron. "Do you really think that Malfoy did this?"

"I really don't know, but I don't think it's right to go pointing fingers," I answered. "It wasn't right of him to express his thoughts to Professor McGonagall either - that could have gotten him into serious trouble."

"You're right," Hermione sighed. "I just hope that Katie is going to be okay. I don't know who that curse was intended for, but it was definitely meant to do a lot of damage."

A lot of damage was right too. On the day after the incident, Katie Bell was sent to St. Mungo's so she could get more proper care. It was sad to think that she got hurt when it obviously was meant for someone else - not that it would have turned out good either way. My only hope was that the Healers at the hospital could fix her up and she could get back to Hogwarts safely.

"It was meant for Dumbledore, wasn't it?" Hermione asked me.

"That's what I was thinking," I sighed. "But who in their right mind would have thought Dumbledore wouldn't have seen through their trick. It really wasn't thought out well and it must have been someone that was visiting the Three Broomsticks - but who? Did you notice anyone going into the bathroom?"

"No, I wasn't paying attention to it," Hermione said in defeat. "Who would have - it's perfectly ordinary to go into the bathroom."

"Exactly, but they were smart in picking a place that they couldn't be seen easily," I said.

There really wasn't any use trying to figure this out. The attacker obviously knew how to hide himself, but was no expert in carrying things out as he planned. Katie must have just walked into the bathroom at the wrong time and got the short end of the stick.

Luckily enough for us, it wasn't long before Dumbledore returned to the school and was able to help us think it through briefly before our meeting with him on Saturday. Harry, of course, seemed adamant on bringing up the subject of Draco Malfoy while we were in there.

"Do you think he could have done it?" Harry asked as he sat on the edge of his chair.

"There is no evidence suggesting that he has," Dumbledore shook his head. "Unless of course you believe there is reasoning for him to do so, I suggest that you be careful with who you put the blame on."

"I don't have solid evidence," Harry admitted. "But he's been acting really suspicious with everything lately. And having his father in Azkaban for being a Death Eater isn't exactly helping his case for me."

"Being a Death Eater isn't genetic, Harry," I insisted.

"Yes, but you said yourself that it could have been him," Harry said.

"I did not!" I responded quickly. "I said that I don't know who it could have been!"

"Which means that it could have been Malfoy," Harry said.

"That is not what I meant," I rolled my eyes. "You're putting words into my mouth - "

"Okay, that is quite enough," Dumbledore said. "There is no need in fighting amongst yourselves when there are other things that need to be done."

Harry let out a deep sigh and sat back in his chair. He was going to continue to have this conversation until someone other than Ron gave him a hint that he could have been right and there was no chance that he would get that satisfaction from me. I loved Harry, but he has always been quick to point the blame on the people that he isn't fond of and I wasn't just going to go along with that.

"Now," Dumbledore continued. "Let's move on to the reason why you're here. Today we are going to visit an old memory of mine."

"And which one is that?" I asked.

"It is from my very first meeting with Tom Riddle," Dumbledore told us. "As you are well aware, Tom lived in an orphange from many years in his youth, most of which he was unaware of what he really was."

"Hold on, what actually happened to his mother?" I asked. "You said that she was alone when she had Tom, but does that mean that she died shortly after his birth?"

"That is exactly right," Dumbledore nodded. "After she was left by her husband, Merope became extraordinarily depressed and lost all will to live. She sold everything that was in her possession to keep her alive as long as possible - including the items that belonged to her family. Her last hours were spent in the orphanage that we are about to see where she gave birth to her son and died shortly afterwards."

"If she's a witch, then why didn't she use magic to keep herself alive?" Harry asked.

"She had no will to live," Dumbledore answered. "And it is a belief of many that Merope Gaunt stopped using magic after Tom Riddle left her because she believed that it was the cause for the abandonment."

"Didn't she realize that it was the reason for their marriage to begin with?" I asked.

"It was all just a fantasy to her," Dumbledore said. "She wanted to believe that he truly loved her and I think that she did until the very end."

It was almost sad to think that this woman had gone through so much pain just to have some time for someone to love her. She obviously had a difficult life as a child and was craving the attention that she never got, but was it really worth it for her to go through all of that just to be abandoned in the end with a child that she would never know? If it wasn't Voldemort that this was happening to, I probably would have been a lot more sympathetic to his mother's cause.

Without any more commenting on Merope's situation, Dumbledore waved his wand and brought the Pensieve over to us. He whirled his wand around in the bowl and eventually a picture began to form. No instructions were needed for us to know that it was time for us to delve into another piece of Voldemort's past.

When I stuck my head into the Pensieve, followed quickly by the other two, I found myself being dragged into a small hallway where I noticed a younger looking Dumbledore and a woman that strongly reminded me of Professor McGonagall with the stern look that she had on her face.

"Are you sure that it is Tom that you are searching for?" the woman asked Dumbledore skeptically.

"Positive," Dumbledore said. "I wish to take him away to a school that is fit for his needs in learning."

"But how do you know that he his proper for this school?" she asked. "He's never had any visitors, or relatives of any kind for that matter, that could have informed you of what kind of child this boy is."

"I assure you that Tom Riddle is the boy that I am looking for," Dumbledore said. "I explained it all in the letter that I wrote to you."

"I am well aware of that, Professor Dumbledore," the woman insisted. "All I ask is that you approach this boy cautiously. He is different than the others - strange if you ask me. I can't imagine what qualifies him for a private school like yours."

Her tone was condescending and I immediately regretted making any comparison between her and Professor McGonagall. My Transfiguration professor may be stern, but she had a much different demeanor to herself - more proper and respectful than this woman. Even if she was speaking of Tom Riddle, I hardly thought that it was necessary for her to talk about him like this. It was in this moment that it dawned on me that this woman was a Muggle - could she have contributed to his hatred for those who weren't magical?

"He scares the other children, he does," she continued as she motioned toward the door. "Don't know what it is about him, but the others just seem to avoid him after everything that he's done."

"Such as?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Just...odd occurrences," she shrugged as she knocked on the door. "Tom - you have a visitor!"

I heard slow and steady footsteps toward the door and it creaked open and revealed a small boy that strongly resembled Tom Riddle Senior. He was a handsome boy, but there was something about him that seemed a bit off - like he was angry for one reason or another.

"Why do I have a visitor?" Tom asked without even looking at Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore has come here to talk to you about something," the woman said while gesturing to the younger Dumbledore. "I'll leave you two alone - come get me if need be."

Tom watched her walk back in the hallway before retreating back to his room where he sat down in a chair and glared at Dumbledore as if he were an insect.

"Professor, is that what you are?" Tom asked. "She thinks that I need a doctor?"

"No, Tom," Dumbledore said calmly as he sat in a chair adjacent to the young boy. "I am not a doctor, but a teacher."

"A teacher?" Tom asked, suddenly looking more calm and curious than he did before. "What is a teacher visiting me for?"

"I have come with an offer," he said. "The school I work at wishes to enroll you - it's a school for special people such as yourself."

"You mean for mad people?" Tom asked irritably. "That's what this is about then, Ms. Cole is just trying to get rid of me."

"Hogwarts is not a mad house," Dumbledore said gently. "It's a school for witches and wizards."

There was a moment of silence where I could see Tom trying to comprehend what was just said. It was obviously a shock that could be compared to the shock that Harry and I had when we first discovered what we were.

"Wizards?" Tom asked finally. "You mean like magic?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean," Dumbledore nodded. "You must have realized by now that you are no ordinary boy. Ms. Cole told me earlier of some of the strange things that you have experienced around her and these incidences are by no mere coincidence."

"I'm a wizard," Tom said slowly. "How do I know that you aren't lying to me - who are you to tell me what I am?"

"You are not the only one of your kind," Dumbledore smiled. "There are many others like yourself that will accompany you to Hogwarts."

"Do you mean that you are a wizard as well?" Tom asked.

"I am."

"Prove it."

Dumbledore quickly pulled a wand out of his robes and suddenly a wardrobe beside them both burst into flames. I jumped back, not expecting this to happen, but I seemed to be the only one that was surprised at all. My eyes remained locked on Tom Riddle, who did not looked shocked in the least and instead had a large smile on his face.

"That's incredible," Tom said in a small voice.

"Why don't you go see what's inside?" Dumbledore suggested.

"In the wardrobe?" Tom asked.

Dumbledore nodded and Tom hesitantly stood up. He went to grab the handle and briefly glanced back at Dumbledore who nodded him on. When the door opened, everything seemed to be on fire except for a small box that Tom took out of the cupboard and turned to Dumbledore just as the flames disappeared.

"Now I think we both know what's in that box," Dumbledore said with a frown on his face. "And I suggest that you return the items to their owners."

"Yes, sir," Tom nodded without meeting the professor's eyes.

"This sort of thing will not be tolerated at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "Is that understood?"

Tom nodded and set the box down on his bed as he sat down next to it. With an innocent enough look, he turned his attention back to Professor Dumbledore.

"You wish to attend Hogwarts, am I correct?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course I would," Tom answered. "Anywhere but here. They don't like me - they think me strange."

"That's because you are different," Dumbledore nodded. "But you will be welcomed at Hogwarts. Take this letter here - it has a list of all the things that you need for school."

"Where do I get them?" Tom asked. "The schoolbooks - it isn't like they sell those in ordinary shops."

"You're right, Tom - they don't," the professor said. "You will need to do your shopping in Diagon Alley - "

"Where is that?" he asked immediately.

Dumbledore quickly explained how he would have to find the Leaky Cauldron and how he would then find Diagon Alley in there. As he was explaining it, I was quickly reminded of the excitement that I felt when I first stepped into the Alley myself. It was completely magical, both in the literal and figurative way. In that moment, I began to believe everything that I was told - it was the beginning of a completely new world that I truly felt I belonged to. And in remembering the delight that I felt, I could only see the look on young Tom Riddle's face as he listened to the words that I heard so many years ago from Hagrid in a hut in the ocean. The difference was significant. He looked thrilled about this new life that he had no knowledge of, but there was something else. It was like he was hungry for this new lifestyle with this look of complete desperation on his face.

"How do I get to Hogwarts?" Tom asked suddenly.

"All of the information is in the envelope," Dumbledore pointed to the letter that he gave him. "I shall see you at Hogwarts."

"Yes, sir," Tom nodded.

The younger version of Dumbledore began to walk out of the door, but was stopped when Tom spoke up again. This time I saw something different on the boys face, almost a look of fright that I hardly recognized on the boy's face.

"I can speak to snakes," he said at once.

Dumbledore stopped and looked at the child in surprise that was quickly masked so he wouldn't frighten him more.

"Is that normal?" Tom continued in a small voice.

"It's not unheard of," Dumbledore told him. "Though it is rare."

The scene around me faded and I found myself sitting in Dumbledore's office once more. Dumbledore was staring at both of us as Harry lifted his head from the Penseive and just let us sit in silence for a moment before we began to discuss.

"He believed it so quickly," I spoke first. "He hardly questioned the fact that he is a wizard."

"That's because he knew he was different," Dumbledore said. "I believe that the fact that he was magical only confirmed his belief that he was a special child."

"The lady that we met first - she said that he scared the other children," Harry said. "Did she tell you how?"

"Earlier in that memory she did," Dumbledore nodded. "It started later than I expected, but she mentioned that there was belief that he murdered a rabbit that one of the other children owned. There was also another incident where he brought two other children into a cave and they began to act very strange afterwards - though there is no way to know what sort of magic he performed on them."

"I think that he liked being different," I said. "He was a miserable, angry child from the looks of it, but I think that it all made him feel more special about himself and less about the people that were around him."

"You believe that his hatred for Muggles started there, correct?" Dumbledore asked.

"I could almost see why," I said. "I can't say I cared much for the lady we saw first myself."

"Are you saying that is a good enough reason to murder Muggles?" Harry asked in astonishment.

"Don't be an idiot," I rolled my eyes. "I'm just saying that we can understand what it's like to be rejected by the people that we are forced to live with."

"We're not like Voldemort," Harry insisted.

"Understanding your enemies perspective is the key to stopping them, Harry," Dumbledore said.

The words 'I told you so' were flashing through my mind, but I kept my mouth shut so I wouldn't get a lecture from them both. Instead, I decided to move on with the subject so we could get this done and over with.

"Did he not know that his mother was a witch?" I asked.

"Not at the time," Dumbledore shook his head. "He expressed his belief that his father was the wizard in the family because of his mother's sudden death that suggested she had no magical ability to her."

"Imagine how mad he got when he found out he was named after a Muggle," Harry said.

"Do you think that is why he changed his name?" I asked Dumbledore. "Because his Muggle father abandoned him?"

"I believe that was one of the reasons," Dumbledore nodded.

It had never dawned on me that Voldemort might actually have a more legitimate reason for his hatred of Muggles. Of course his hatred was more extreme than necessary, but I never actually thought that it was because of his troubled childhood. It's a wonder that Harry and I never turned out that way considering our past with the Dursleys and the way that they treated us. Then again, we had each other where the young Tom Riddle had no one and had no interest in having a companion in years to come.

"Well, I believe that we've given this matter enough time for the moment," Dumbledore said when he looked up at the clock. "It's getting awfully late."

We said goodnight and slowly departed from the headmaster's office. On the way back, there really wasn't any talking because we were both still mentally going over what we had just seen. Never before today would I have thought I was capable of expressing the smallest hint of sympathy for the child that became such a monster, no matter how brief this moment of sympathy was.

By the next morning Harry and I had already told our immediate group of friends about what was happening in Dumbledore's office. Not that I was surprised, but they seemed really impressed. But the conversation on the subject seemed to go on for days as they tried to pry more information out of us.

"So he's just showing you some of You-Know-Who's past?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Harry shrugged.

"But why?" Hermione asked.

"He said that it's good to know your enemies," I explained. "Maybe it'll help us later on if we know some of his darkest secrets."

We couldn't talk about it for too long though because it wasn't exactly something that we wanted to have spread around the school given the circumstances. We already knew that we had enemies in this very school that could let Voldemort know what we were up to. The thing was though that I hardly knew what we were up to ourselves. Knowing Voldemort's past may be a bit useful, but was it really the best way to protect us if we were going to be the ones that had to face him in years to come? Would knowing that he stole a few random objects from his bullies really help us when he's sending the Killing Curse our way?

"Miss Potter - pay attention!" Snape demanded in the middle of a lecture that he was giving on what to do when faced with a vampire.

"Right, sorry sir," I said quickly.

He all but rolled his eyes as he continued to pace back and forth in the room. Things between us may have been okay for a moment or two when he thought that I would be birthing a child, but now they seemed to be staying where they were beforehand and it wasn't something I could say I cared for. Hogwarts was a lot better of a place when I could depend on Severus Snape to help me through my problems.

Unfortunately, Snape was not the only teacher that I was having a problem with. Slughorn was still all over my case along with the rest of our _grand_ Slug Club. The meetings, although they weren't all that frequent, were horrible and we did everything that we could to get out of attending them. Luckily enough, it was very easy to get out of them for Harry and me with our meetings with Dumbledore, but not the same could be said for everyone.

"We're having a Christmas party," Hermione said miserably as she poked at her potatoes.

"Maybe we can - " I started to come up with an excuse with Harry.

"No - you're going," Hermione snapped. "You've hardly showed up to the meetings and I already told him that you both could make it."

"_Hermione_," Harry and I moaned.

"It's kind of sick that he only allows his favorites, you know," Ron mumbled. "No other teacher does that sort of thing."

"Well, we are allowed to bring guests," Hermione said to Harry and me. "So maybe it won't be so bad."

"Oh great," Ron muttered. "Another thing I'm not included in - spectacular! I hope you have lots of fun at your stupid party..."

"You can cover for me if you like," I suggested.

"I don't want to go," Ron insisted.

"Oh, well I was going to ask you," Hermione spoke quietly.

Her face went red and so did Ron's as they looked at one another. For a moment, I felt like I should leave for a minute to let them talk in private, but I think that it would only make the moment more awkward than it already was.

"Me?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Yes, but if you would rather me ask someone else," Hermione said casually as she avoided Ron's eyes.

"No, no," Ron said hurriedly. "I just thought you were going to ask McLaggen."

If I could have managed a face-palm without causing a scene, I probably would have. If Ron could possibly be any dumber at this moment then it would be a record.

"Why would I ask him?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, no reason," Ron mumbled. "I just know he fancies you..."

"Oh...right," Hermione said awkwardly. "So would you like to go...?"

"Yeah, sure," Ron nodded.

Harry cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat after they went silent. This action made the pair jump because they had apparently forgotten that they weren't the only people in the room.

"So who are you going to ask?" I asked Harry suddenly.

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "I haven't decided yet - what about you?"

"Not sure," I sighed. "I highly doubt that he would let George come up, so I don't know who I could ask..."

To be honest, I would be perfectly content going alone to this sort of thing, but since everyone else was bringing a guest I don't think it could hurt to tag a friend along with me. But who?

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Do you have anyone in particular that you would like to see Emily go to Slughorn's party with - answer in the comments if you have a suggestion. The next chapter should be up within the next week!**

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	17. Overhearing the Unexpected

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 17**

All thoughts of the Slug Club Christmas party were put on hold when Quidditch practices started. I was thankful to have an excuse to not think about it after George sent me a letter saying how busy he was with the shop setting up things for the Christmas holidays. I didn't bother to mention the party to him because I didn't want him to feel like he had to go and leave Fred with all the business in Diagon Alley.

However, Quidditch practice did nothing but make me nervous with how horrible Ron was becoming. I don't know if it was a stroke of luck that he made it through try-outs, but the practices made him look like he had never played before. Even Dean, who Harry recruited as a Chaser in Katie's place, was playing a lot better and he had never even been on the team before.

"I cannot believe that he's gotten worse than last year," Ginny sighed once we landed at the end of practice. "I didn't think it was even possible."

"He did fine at try-outs," I tried to defend him. "Maybe he's just over-thinking it now that he's on the team and everyone is depending on him."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Ginny said. "He always thinks way too into things. I just hope that he gets better before the game - I don't think I can stand to lose our first game of the year to Slytherin."

When Dean came over to retrieve her, Ginny waved and the two departed while I waited for Harry and Ron to catch up. They were the last ones to leave the field and I had a feeling that it was because Ron was in a bad mood from missing all of those Quaffles and Harry was trying to build his spirits. I only guess this because it's generally what happens during every practice that we've had.

"I shouldn't have even tried out for the team," Ron was mumbling as he approached me.

"Oh, come on," Harry was saying. "You're just under too much pressure - relax and you'll be fine, right Emily?"

"What - oh, right," I said, not expecting to be brought into the conversation. "Maybe you were just having a bad day, I'm sure that you'll be fine from now on."

"Yeah right," Ron said. "I'm dreadful."

"Okay, knock it off," I demanded. "You're just feeling sorry for yourself - just do better next time."

"Fine, I'll try," Ron said without confidence.

Knowing that the rest of our walk was going to be in silence because of Ron's conflicting feelings of wanting to complain and not wanting to get knocked in the head because of my annoyance, I decided to stop at the bathroom to let them get ahead of me so I didn't have to deal with it all. Ron seemed relieved enough that I was leaving and I had a feeling that he was going to have a pity party as soon as I was out of ear shot.

As soon as I stepped back out of the bathroom, I was happy to see that they were nowhere in sight and I would be able to have a non-awkward walk back to the Gryffindor Tower. And naturally, something had to step in the way to make it so this wasn't possible. That something was Draco Malfoy who was walking urgently through the halls.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" he spat.

"Well, it is a hallway," I said casually as I stopped in front of him. "And I'm walking back from Quidditch practice. So...yeah. Wait - why? What are you doing?"

"Nothing - just walking," he said too quickly.

The stressed look on his face and the obvious attempt to remain casual were far too suspicious for me to not think about. What was wrong with him?

"You're still playing Quidditch?" Draco asked in late surprise.

"Er...yeah," I said. "I'm still one of the Beaters."

"Right, I just thought you were taking Weasley's place last year," he said.

"I was," I pointed out. "But I decided to give it another go. Couldn't pass up the chance to beat you on the field."

"I'm not playing this year," he said without expression.

"W-what?" I asked in surprise. "Why not - did you not make the team?"

"Please - I'm perfect for the team," he said with a familiar cockiness. "I just don't have the interest to play this year."

"But you were - " I started, but stopped myself before I said it.

Draco raised an eyebrow and had a smirked that looked slightly forced.

"Were you going to say that I was good?" he asked.

"You will never know," I winked.

I don't know what it was, but I suddenly felt so sorry for the boy that stood in front of me. He just seemed like he was going through the motions, but something about him just seemed sad, something that I wasn't used to seeing on the irritating Draco that I once knew. Maybe it was what happened to his father. I couldn't imagine going through the same thing as him - just how horrible it would be to have a father that was a Death Eater.

"How are you Draco?" I murmured. "Really?"

His face suddenly sunk and he couldn't have looked more surprised. It occurred to me then that this wasn't something that I would normally ask him. Maybe it was because of the sudden surge of pity that I was feeling for him and part of me wanted to help. Or maybe I had gone insane - a more likely cause.

"I'm fine," he said in a small voice. "I've been better...I've been worse...why?"

"I don't know," I said with realization. "You just looked like you might need a person to talk to."

"And you thought you could be that person?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I could be," I shrugged. "Sometimes you find that you can talk about certain things to unexpected people."

He nodded and there was silence. We stood there for a moment before I gave him a small smile and decided that it was best to just leave him in peace.

"I better be going," I said while pointing up the stairs. "I guess I'll see you later?"

"Sure," he nodded slowly.

We both departed and when I looked back around when I was turning the corner, I saw Draco standing there looking at me with the saddest look in his eyes. Never in my life would I have imagined that someone like Draco Malfoy could have made me feel such sorrow for something that I didn't understand. I wanted to help him, but I didn't even know what was wrong.

When I got back to the Gryffindor Tower minutes later, I walked in to see a very angry looking Ron and my brother looking like someone had just knocked him in the head with something really heavy.

"Where have you been?" Ron asked when he looked up.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked with concern. "Did someone upset you?"

"No, I'm fine," I said. "What's wrong with you two - have I missed something?"

"Funny you ask," Ron said, suddenly looking angry again. "It's my sister - she's a complete lunatic."

"Why, what did she do?" I asked as I sat down on the couch.

"We ran into her in the hallways snogging Dean," Ron rolled his eyes irritably. "And then she has the nerve to go off on me like I'm a child - "

"You did yell at her," Harry said, though he looked like he was in another world at the moment.

"Why would you yell at her?" I asked in confusion.

"Because I don't want to see my sister snogging some guy in public," he said while going red in the face. "It isn't proper - I'm sure that Harry would feel the same if he walked in on you and George.

"Please, cock-block is practically his middle name," I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," I said. "I'm going to bed - goodnight."

Ron looked like he wanted to say something more, but I just kept walking because I really wasn't all that interested in the conversation that he wanted to have. I could only imagine how angry Ginny was with him and I couldn't really blame her. Sure, I get that it could be odd to see your brother/sister snogging, but it's no excuse to yell at them for it.

The morning before our first Quidditch game made me want to knock Ron upside the head. He was being a complete prat ever since we started practicing Quidditch again and he was taking out his aggression on anyone that spoke of it. So, naturally, I did everything I could to avoid him beforehand. Hermione and Harry tried to cheer him up at breakfast, but I left her alone to do that and sat with Ginny, Seamus, Dean, and Neville instead.

"He's taking it out on everyone," Ginny rolled her eyes. "He always does this - first he hates himself and then he yells at everyone because he's horrible."

"Hopefully he doesn't lose the game for us," I said. "I don't think I'm ready for the moping that will come from that."

"No one is," Dean snickered. "We're just going to have to do everything we can to keep the Quaffle away from the goals."

We ate mostly in silence as I pictured Slytherin walking away with a victory. The only happy thought that went through my mind was that Draco wasn't going to be the one to rub it in my face once we were defeated. But I don't think I can stand the smug looks from their team and Snape afterwards.

"So what about this party of Slughorn's?" Neville asked. "Are you going with anyone?"

"I haven't asked anyone," I shrugged. "Are you going?"

"I guess so since I was invited," he said.

"Who are you going with?" I asked.

"Not sure," he said as he tapped his fingers on the table.

There was a brief moment of silence where his face went a little pink and he wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Maybe we could go together," he suggested nervously. "You know - just as friends."

"That would be great," I smiled. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Me either," he said too quickly for me to believe.

At this point, my friend had gone a deep red and wouldn't take his eyes off of the food that he wasn't even touching. What had gotten in to him? Did he feel awkward asking me to go to this party with him? I hardly thought that it should be considering we've been friends for so long - things like this should be simple for him, but I guess he was more shy than I remember him being.

"Emily, Ginny, Dean - we need to go," Harry suddenly tapped on my shoulder.

"Right, okay - I'm on my way," I said as I quickly drained the last of my orange juice. "See you all later."

"Good luck," Neville smiled.

Seamus and Neville waved to us as Hermione walked over to join them. The rest of us walked out of the Great Hall and toward the field. Ron, who was walking next to me, seemed to have more of a confidence to his step and I raised an eyebrow and looked over to Harry who had a grin on his face. Knowing something was up, I grabbed onto Harry's arm until we were a good enough distance away from our friend.

"What's going on with Ron?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he smirked.

"Harry Potter - don't make me hurt you," I poked him. "Just tell me!"

"Let's just say that all we need to win this game is a little _luck_," he said with emphasis on the last word.

I stared at him for a minute as we stepped onto the Quidditch pitch and then it dawned on me what he meant by that. My jaw dropped and I could hardly believe that Harry had gone as far as to use his liquid luck on a game.

"But you could have used that on anything," I said in disbelief.

"I know," he said. "And I still can."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Let's win this game!" Ron shouted for the whole team.

Everyone cheered, but I could see some of the players seemed a little skeptical about Ron being the one saying this. With his record, I could see how they would be - but would be performing better now that he had that potion in his system? And what was Harry talking about when he said that he could still use the potion now? Did he only give Ron a little bit? Would it even last the entire game if that were the case. I guess only time would tell.

Before the game started, I decided to go to the bathroom so I wouldn't have to wait for a break in the game. Still trying to figure out what Harry was talking about with Ron, I was sort of distracted as I washed my hands in the sink. The only thing that brought me back to reality was two fourth year girls that were giggling outside of the bathroom.

"I can't believe that he's with Angelina Johnson," the one girl said.

"Which one?" another girl asked in surprise.

"George," the first girl answered. "It's supposed to be a big secret, but I saw them snogging in Diagon Alley when I went to their joke shop just before school started."

"I thought he had a girlfriend," the second girl said. "Isn't he dating that Potter girl?"

"Oh yeah," the first girl said in realization. "I guess she'll figure out soon enough - oh well, I could always go for his twin."

All of my blood had drained from my face and I felt like I was going to collapse. They were talking about George - my George. And what did they mean he was snogging Angelina? This couldn't be true - it couldn't. But the girl said that she saw them in Diagon Alley.

I was shaking - every part of my body felt numb and I became lightheaded. I started breathing heavily and I could feel the tears threatening to escape my eyes. Just then I heard footsteps that seemed so far away and a voice that said something that seemed muffled.

"Emily!"

I looked over and saw Ginny looking at me and she suddenly seemed concerned when she looked me in the eye.

"I said the game is about to start - are you okay?" she asked quickly. "You look like you're going to be sick."

"Can I ask you something?" I said in a choked voice.

"Yeah - what is it?" she asked as she put her hand on my shoulder as I leaned on the sink.

"Is George cheating on me?"

She blinked in surprise and stepped back with a shocked look on her face.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "Who would tell you that?"

"It's not important," I said angrily. "Just answer my question."

"I don't think he is," she said worriedly. "I haven't talked to him in ages - "

"I think I'm going to throw up," I said as I stepped away from her.

"Let me go get Harry," she said quickly. "Maybe he can - "

"No," I said forcefully.

"But I was just - " she started again.

"Harry doesn't need to get involved in this," I said as my head began to pound. "I can take care of this."

"Let me just tell Harry that you can't play the game," she said.

I shook my head as I fought back the urge to scream and/or cry because of what was happening.

"I think that smacking the Bludger with a bat could only help me at this point," I said miserably.

Ginny looked at me skeptically, but nodded nonetheless. Without another word, we both exited the bathroom and walked out onto the field once more. When Harry caught sight of me, he looked like he wanted to say something, but the combined looks from Ginny and me probably kept him silent.

When we flew into the air, I looked around as the crowd cheered everyone on when the whistle blew. I tried to ignore the jeers of the Slytherin students in the crowd as I soared through the air with a bat in hand ready to hit the Bludger that was flying toward Dean at the moment.

"And Emily Potter knocks that one out of the park!" the announcer, who I recognized as Zacharias Smith, yelled. "Thomas better be happy she was there to save him, I wouldn't want to be the one to get in her way - and there goes the Quaffle to the Slytherin team - it's coming to Weasley, I hope he's ready for it - "

I cringed as the Slytherin team's Chasers approached Ron and I nearly closed my eyes as they went to throw the Quaffle toward one of the hoops. The entire stadium went in a hush and my jaw nearly dropped as Ron swished over and blocked the goal with ease and sent the Quaffle back into play.

"Wow - what a save!" Smith yelled from the crowd. "And the Quaffle is sent back toward the Slytherin pitch...and GOAL!"

The crowd went wild and I sat in midair for a moment in shock as I looked down at our Keeper who was flying around the goals with a new confidence about him. When Harry flew by me again, I remembered that I had to actually play and suddenly felt like I was being punched in the gut when I remembered what was keeping me from reality - I could hardly think of my boyfriend's name without wanting to scream in agony.

Trying to ignore the headache that this was all giving me, I flew around the field with a speed that I had never reached before as I went toward a Bludger that was flying toward Ron and the Slytherin Chasers that were flying toward him. I quickly swung my bat at it with a force that sent the Bludger straight down on the field creating it to become stuck in the ground for a moment.

"Did you see that Bludger?" Smith said in astonishment. "What has gotten into Potter - and another save by Weasley!"

Even the name Weasley made me die a little on the inside. I couldn't take this any longer - I felt like I was going to lose it in a minute.

"Emily - are you okay?" Harry shouted at me as he flew past.

"Just hurry up and find the damn Snitch!" I shouted back at him sounding a little strained as the words came out of my mouth.

Luckily I only had to wait a little less than ten minutes before my brother went flying after a small, golden speck in the air. Within seconds, the crowd was in a cheer as he grasped it in his hands at the exact moment that Ron blocked another Quaffle from the goals.

As soon Zacharias announced that Gryffindor won the game, I landed on the ground and quickly walked off the field without so much as a glance back at the crowd. My head was spinning and my throat was closing up as my eyes filled with the tears that I had been holding back since I heard those girls talking in the bathroom. I didn't even know where I was walking, but I wanted to go somewhere that no one would see me completely lose it. The only place I could think of was the Room of Requirement - the one place no one could find me.

Just as I was turning the corridor, I smacked directly into something that I couldn't see through my tears and fell right onto my back. I wanted to scream because all I wanted was to cry in peace and now I was lying on my back, my head thumping, and someone else I was going to have to deal with.

"Watch where you're - Emily?"

I quickly stumbled to my feet and pushed past Draco, who I managed to recognize after I wiped away the tears from my face. He was the last person I wanted to talk to right now and it only made it worse that he saw me in such a state. Great, something else he could mock me for.

"What happened?" he asked as he rushed over to me.

"Leave me a-alone," I demanded through short sobs.

I tried to walk faster and grew extremely irritated as I realized how disoriented I was. How was I supposed to find the room now with Draco following me and my head feeling like it was about to explode.

"Emily, please - let me help," Draco said.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" I shouted as I stopped and faced him.

I flipped back around and walked quickly. At this point, I gave up on even trying to find the Room of Requirement and just sat down in a windowsill in a vacant corridor. I pulled my knees up to my chest and just let the tears roll down as I stared out of the window. When I heard footsteps approaching, I closed my eyes in defeat and wiped another tear from my eye.

"I thought I told you to go away," I murmured.

"You did," Draco said as he sat down next to me. "But it's not like I've ever listened to you before, so why start now?"

"Very funny," I said with a crack in my voice.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked me.

"No," I said stubbornly as I continued to stare out the window.

He stayed silent for a minute and I almost hoped that he would leave, but a part of me knew that he wasn't going to leave until he figured out what was bothering me. And something that scared me even more was that I didn't want him to leave - I wanted someone to sit with me, but I didn't understand why it had to be him.

"George cheated on me," I said quietly.

There was a sigh I turned my head to look at him, but I regretted it immediately as I started to cry again. At least I wasn't sobbing like a complete madman now.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. "Did you see him do that?"

"Well...no," I said as another tear fell. "But I heard a couple of girls talking about it in the bathroom."

"And you think that they were right?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"They said they saw him snogging Angelina during the holidays," I said miserably. "And that was just before we - never mind."

I was about to say that we had just had sex after this happened, but I didn't think it was really necessary for Draco to know something that personal about me. It wasn't any of his business what we did behind closed doors.

"How do you know they weren't making something up?" he asked.

"How do I know that they weren't telling the truth?" I argued.

"Fair enough, but I wouldn't take their word for it," he said. "How would they even know it was him?"

"They said it they saw him outside of their shop," I said. "Who else could it have been?"

"I really don't think that he would cheat on you," he said. "He really cares about you."

"How would you know?" I spat.

"Oh come on," he said. "I've seen you two around before and he practically worships the ground you walk on - he's completely mad for you. Trust me, I've tried to take you from him and I got punched."

"You deserved it," I muttered.

"That's debatable," he said. "But I really don't think you should believe those people so easily - just talk to him about it."

"Okay, Dr. Phil," I smirked.

"Who?" he asked.

"Oh, right - it's a Muggle..." I explained awkwardly. "You wouldn't understand."

He raised his eyebrow and patted me on the shoulder before standing up with a hand out to help me stand up. I took it, but not without rolling my eyes first. We walked down the corridor for a minute before I finally was able to speak up again.

"Thank you, Draco," I said seriously.

"You're welcome," he nodded.

"I never thought I would find myself talking to you about my problems," I said.

He shrugged his shoulders and a small smile went across his face as we started walking down the stairs.

"Sometimes you find that you can talk about certain things to unexpected people," he said.

* * *

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	18. Drama at Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 18**

By the time I made it back to the Gryffindor Tower after speaking with Draco, the entire common room was packed with people and the party was in full swing. The few people that noticed me walk into the room cheered, but everyone else seemed to be blinded of the room around them as they continued to celebrate their victory.

"Hey, where have you been?" Neville asked as he stumbled over through the crowd with an obnoxious party hat sitting askew on his head.

"Just...around," I said awkwardly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly serious.

"Nothing, I'll tell you about it later," I said quickly as I tried to brush it off. "Where are Harry and Ron - I've been meaning to congratulate them on the game."

"I'm pretty sure Harry went looking for Hermione," he said as he pulled on the collar of his shirt. "But Ron's over there with Lavender..."

When I looked over to where he was pointing, I suddenly understood why it was so awkward to point out. Wrapped around Ron was Lavender Brown, at least that is what I gathered for the brief second I actually saw her face as it appeared they were eating each others faces off.

"Really?" I shook my head. "He had to pick Lavender Brown to snog with."

"She practically attacked him as soon as the party started," Neville grimaced as he took a drink from his cup. "It was actually really disturbing."

Then something dawned on me - Hermione wasn't there. She must have seen the two snogging and left out of anger. How could Ron be such an idiot? He must have known that Hermione had feeling for him and then he went off and snogged _Lavender_.

"Where did Hermione go?" I asked.

"Oh," Neville said with a look of realization. "I guess that's why she stormed out of here - Harry must have been following her."

"How long have they been gone?" I asked.

"It's been a little while now," he thought. "I guess it wasn't long after the party started."

For a moment, I thought that I could do everyone in the room a favor by knocking Ron across the head, but he had temporarily separated from Lavender's grasp to relocate in what I would assume to be a more private place.

"Can you believe the nerve of him?" Ginny rolled her eyes as she walked up to me. "She yells at me about Dean, but he just snogs her in front of the whole world and that's perfectly okay."

"He's such a hypocrite," I agreed.

Some more people began to cheer again as someone threw a small pack of fireworks into the sky that burst into several different colors. The only thing I wanted right then was silence, but I knew that it wouldn't be happening any time soon considering our victory from earlier today.

"I'm going to go see if I can find Hermione," I said to Ginny and Neville. "Do either of you know where she went?"

"Oh no, I didn't even think about her seeing that," Ginny grimaced as she motioned to where her brother escaped with Lavender out of the portrait hole.

"I didn't see where she went," Neville answered me. "I just saw her leave through the portrait hole a while ago."

"I better find her before Ron does," I said. "I can't imagine that going too well."

They nodded and I tried to push my way through the crowd once more. I few people gave me high-fives and congratulated me on winning the game and I murmured some responses before I finally pushed my way out of the door.

As soon as I was out in the corridors, I let out a sigh of relief as the sounds of the party died away. I couldn't be too sure of where they went, so I guess I could just search around and try to listen for any kind of noise.

Some of the paintings had together to talk about Gryffindor's victory, I heard some of them complaining saying that Slytherin deserved the victory. I tried to ignore them as I listened out for Harry or Hermione - or possibly even sounds of them finding Ron - but I there wasn't a sign of them.

"Shouldn't you be celebrating?" a voice called to me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin with surprise as I turned to see Snape silently walking toward me with an eyebrow raised.

"Shouldn't you be sulking?" I asked.

"I think that you've done a good enough job of that for everyone," he replied without breaking eye contact.

"You've talked to Draco, haven't you?" I asked with a sigh.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"I thought you meant - never mind," I shook my head. "Have you seen my brother - or Hermione for that matter?"

"No, but I did see Mr. Weasley wandering off with Miss Brown," he said dully.

"Oh," I said without attempting to hide my disgust.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"Not as long as they stay out of my sight," I said honestly. "Or, what was more important, Hermione's sight."

Snape looked like he was going to question what was happening, but he seemed to have lost interest within a matter of seconds and instead decided to change the subject back to what he originally attempted to discuss with me.

"So what does Mr. Malfoy know that I do not?" he questioned.

"How to play Quidditch?" I suggested in an attempt to divert the conversation.

He just stared at me as if he expected me to tell him what was really wrong, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about it again. This is not why I came out of the Gryffindor common room.

"Fine, don't answer me," he said. "Do you know where Mr. Malfoy went?"

"He walked me back to the Tower, but I don't know where he went after that," I said.

"Why did he walk you back?" he asked. "Where was he when you found him?"

"He was on the seventh floor already," I shrugged. "It wasn't a great distance - wait, why?"

"That's none of your concern," he said.

"Do you need him for some reason?" I asked.

"No," he said quickly.

"Then why do you keep asking about him?" I asked.

"How do you expect me to answer your questions if you do not answer mine?" he said.

"I'm not answering your question because it's not something I want to talk about," I explained. "Besides, what does it matter to you what I have on my mind?"

"Is genuine curiosity not a good enough reason?" he asked.

"Fine, if you must know I was talking to Draco about a rumor that I heard," I said uncomfortably. "I overheard someone saying that George cheated on me."

For a brief second, I saw a flash of anger go across his face and I immediately began to regret telling him. It didn't occur to me that he would get angry because of his weird moods of getting along with me one moment and then hating me the next. I guess that I caught him at one of those moments where he treated me like a human being again.

"He's currently in business in Diagon Alley, correct?" he asked suddenly.

"Er...yes," I said. "Why?"

"Have a good evening," he said abruptly.

As Snape walked past me and went out of sight, I had a sinking feeling that maybe it wasn't a good idea to get Snape involved in this when I hardly knew how to deal with it myself. Having it all fresh in my mind made me want to cry again, but I held back and tried to move forward as I thought of where Harry and Hermione might have gone.

After a few minutes of searching around, I gave up on the idea that I would be able to find them easily and decided to make a quick trip to the Owlery. It was already starting to get dark, but I knew that I had to send a letter to George and it had to be somewhere that I wouldn't have someone reading over my shoulder. I would have preferred to have this conversation in person, but I wasn't so sure that I could wait that long.

I was happy to see that the Owlery was vacant and I quickly found a quill and some spare parchment that was sitting in the room. I found Hoot pecking at some food nearby and pet him for a minute before I sat down to do some writing.

_George,_

_I didn't want to have to do this in a letter, but I don't think that I can wait until the holidays start. Just before the game today, I overheard some girls that were talking about you. They said that you've been cheating on me with Angelina and I need to know the truth._

_Emily_

It was short, but I didn't know what else to put without sounding like the complete wreck that I already was. When I gave it to Hoot, he seemed to be happy to finally get to stretch his wings properly for the first time in a while and when he flew off, I tried to bring back the sanity that I had lost within only the small amount of time that I have known this information.

Part of me felt like I should have said that George and I needed to take a break, but I kept remembering what Draco said about him. George seemed to care about me, but overhearing what those girls said really made me question everything. Maybe this was my fault - how could I think this would work when we hardly got to see each other. I felt like such an idiot.

I didn't talk to anyone on the way back to the common room and I went directly for my bed. The first thing I noticed was that Hermione still wasn't back which meant that Harry probably wasn't either. I could imagine that they were still attempting to avoid Ron and Lavender at all costs and I hoped more than anything that it worked out that way - they needed their distance more than anything right now.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. My eyes were heavy and I practically dragged myself to the Great Hall that morning to keep my routine going. Ron and Lavender, much to my shock, were already awake and, much to my displeasure, were found snogging in a corridor not far from the Gryffindor Tower when I was walking to breakfast.

"Get a room," I muttered under my breath.

When I finally got to the Great Hall, I sat down with Seamus who was devouring the plate of eggs that he had sitting there. He smiled awkwardly at me when he noticed me looking at him.

"Goob mornin,'" he said as the food fell out of his mouth.

"Hungry?" I laughed as he cleaned himself up.

"Just a little bit," he laughed. "And I might be avoiding someone..."

"Who?" I asked as I put some bacon on my plate. "And what for?"

"Dean," he said. "I owe him a galleon for losing a bet."

"What bet?" I asked.

"Well, I bet that Ron was going to lose us the game yesterday," he said. "And I don't have the exact amount of money on me."

"That confidant in him, were you?" I asked with a shake of the head. "He's really not that bad of a player."

"He wasn't yesterday," he shrugged. "But it didn't help me any."

"Wait a minute - are you saying that Dean knew that Ron was going to do good?" I asked. "He's usually going on about how awful he is."

"I might have called the bet with Ginny standing next to him," he smirked. "He had to stick to her brother's side or she would have murdered him on the spot."

"That's horrible of you," I scolded.

"Or just so clever that you couldn't have thought of it," he winked.

"Didn't you lose the bet?" I asked.

He blinked and thought about what he said before narrowing his eyes and putting another scoop of eggs in his mouth.

"You've got me this time, Potter," he said.

Just as he said this, his eyes went wide and he jumped from his chair. When I turned around and looked at the entrance of the Hall, I saw Dean walking absentmindedly into the room with Ginny close by him.

"You should probably run," I said when Dean caught sight of him.

"Right - talk to you later," he said quickly as he walked quickly out of another door.

It wasn't long before Hermione and Harry joined us all at the table. I could tell by looking at Hermione that she had gotten as much sleep as I had and Harry looked like he was about to break down from stress - undoubtably from having to help Hermione yesterday.

"What happened to you yesterday?" Harry asked. "You just disappeared after the game."

"Oh, er..." I hesitated. "Something just came up - I'll tell you later."

Hermione eyed me curiously, but I shook my head hoping that she wouldn't ask me. I knew that Harry wasn't falling for my attempt to remain casual either.

"So...how are you doing?" I sympathetically asked Hermione.

Suddenly she stiffened up and her gaze shifted to Harry for a moment before looking back to me and trying to mimic me in acting casual about something simply because she didn't want to talk about it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied.

"Really, Hermione?" I asked with a knowing look.

"How do you even know about that?" Harry asked curiously.

"I know about everything," I smirked before turning back to Hermione, expecting some sort of answer.

She let out a sigh and looked around to see who all was around us - most likely to make sure that the two people she was talking about were not in hearing distance. From what I am assuming, they were still eating each other's faces like they were when I saw them last. Gross.

"If you're referring to Ron's new..._relationship_," she practically spat the word. "I couldn't care less. He can do what ever he wants to - it is no concern of mine."

I could have been mistaken, but I was pretty sure there was a recognizable twitch in her face as she spoke those words that I knew were lies. It was her way of dealing with the situation with the subject, so I wouldn't push her to tell me what I already knew. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it and she had moved from hysterically crying to outright anger and irritation.

For the next few days, I did my best to not bring up Ron at all when I was around her - even though that was very seldom now that she was so interested in keeping herself busy (probably so she wouldn't think about it). At this point, I was practically twitching waiting for George's reply to my letter, but I was still unsure of whether I really wanted to know the answer.

Even though it had been days since I figured out, I still had yet to tell anyone about it apart from Snape, Draco, and Ginny - two of which I could hardly believe I told in the first place. Hermione never brought up the subject again because of how irritable she was about Ron lately, but I was not as fortunate with Harry who seemed to ask me at every opportunity he could.

"Why won't you tell me what's bothering you?" he asked in the common room that day.

"Honestly," I sighed. "Because it'll only make you mad and it isn't even worth it. It's not something I like talking about."

He just stared at me for a moment, probably mentally trying to figure out what I could say that would make him mad. The possibilities were endless, but of course he would figure it out eventually. It was nearly impossible for me to keep something from him for too long.

"You're still not pregnant, right?" he asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah, didn't I tell you - we're having a boy," I rolled my eyes.

"Very funny," he said.

Now that I thought about it, I would have rather been pregnant right now instead of having to deal with the possibility of George cheating on me. At least it would be something that I was certain of the outcome.

"Was it Snape?" Harry asked.

"No," I answered. "He didn't do anything."

"Malfoy?" he suggested.

I shook my head and he just sat down in a chair and got his thinking face on.

"What about George?" he asked after a minute.

Just hearing his name made me want to crawl into a hole and Harry knew immediately that his guess was right. There was a second that he seemed satisfied knowing that he figured out one piece of the situation, but then he got serious again and became tense.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Harry - " I started.

"What did he do?" he rephrased the question forcefully.

"He cheated on me," I said.

Silence.

Harry's face went red and he looked like he was about ready to jump out of his chair and go find George immediately.

"He did _what_?" he asked in angered disbelief.

"I overheard some girls talking about him snogging Angelina outside his shop," I said. "I sent him a letter a few days ago about it and he hasn't replied."

"Why haven't you told me - " he started.

"Because it isn't about you, Harry," I said. "I knew that you were just going to get mad and then I'd have to calm you down too - I can't deal with that right now, I can hardly keep it together myself..."

Before I knew it, I had become the sobbing mess that I had been on the day that I found out about this. With the added stress of having to wait for a response - which only made me think that it was true even more - I just completely fell apart.

Without hesitation, Harry stepped over and sat next to me and pulled me into a hug and I just held onto him and cried into his shoulder like a small child would do.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered to me as hugged me.

It took me a few minutes to gather myself again, but when I finally did I noticed that Harry seemed to have calmed down himself and just looked worried about my sanity now. He wiped away some of the tears from my cheeks when I finally looked back at him and he tried to put on a small, reassuring smile from me.

"I'm sorry," I said miserably.

"Don't be," he said.

Knowing that I didn't want to talk about George anymore, he didn't question me about it or even comment at all on the subject. After a small amount of time passed, I finally decided that it would be better to change the subject so I could get my mind off of all of it.

"Where's Hermione?" I asked after a moment.

"The same place she always is," he said.

"The library?" I assumed.

"Of course," he sighed. "Anything to avoid Ron."

"I'm pretty sure everyone is avoiding Ron," I said with a slightly forced laugh.

"It's not like you could talk to him if he were around anyway," Harry said. "Not with Lavender glued to him every second of the day."

Just picturing them together was enough to gross me out. Out of every person in this entire school, why did he have to choose to be with Lavender? She was completely horrible and they don't even have anything in common. And something was telling me that their relationship was only physical which grossed me out even more.

"Did I tell you that I have a date to Slughorn's party?" Harry asked.

"Who did you ask?" I wondered.

"I'm going with Luna," he told me.

I raised my eyebrow and gave him a questioning look.

"No, it's not like that," he rolled his eyes. "We're just going as friends."

"Sure you are," I teased.

"Come off it," he rolled his eyes and smirked. "Hermione told me you're going with Neville."

"So - we've been friends for a long time," I shrugged.

"Sure," he said. "But I hardly think that Neville only looks at you as a friend."

"Oh come on," I said. "I already talked to him about that - he said that we're just friends."

"Right," he nodded with a smirk still on his face. "But that doesn't mean that it's what he wants."

For a moment I was lost for words and then I felt a pang in my stomach when my mind automatically went to George and what he would think about this. Immediately I tried to stop thinking about it all at once and I just looked down at my hands without a word on the matter.

Lucky for me, I heard the door open which meant that Harry wouldn't continue that conversation anymore. Unfortunately, it was two of the people that I didn't want to see at all - Lavender and Ron.

"Oh hello," Lavender said cheerfully as she wrapped herself around Ron's arm.

"We were just coming to...er..." Ron said awkwardly.

"Look for a place to snog," I suggested as I resisted a roll of the eyes.

"Excuse me," Lavender said, suddenly seeming less cheerful as she looked at me. "Why do you assume that we were looking for a place to kiss - we do other things, you know?"

"I honestly don't want to know about the other things you do," I grimaced as Harry and I stood up in preparation to leave.

"That isn't what I meant," she narrowed her eyes as she stepped over to look me in the eye. "Unlike some people, Ron and I have a good relationship."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I said getting inches away from her.

"You're the laughing stock of the school, Emily," she said with an unpleasant smirk. "Everyone knows that you couldn't keep a hold of your boyfriend - "

_SMACK_

Smacking her in the face seemed almost like a reflex and the sound of it echoed around the room. When she finally recoiled from the shock and the red mark across her face began to appear, she had a look of fury on her face and she immediately went to lung for me.

What happened in the next few seconds seemed like a blur, but once Harry and Ron pulled us apart before we were able to kill one another, my head was thumping where she had grabbed a hold of my hair and tried to yank it out and my fist was stinging where I had punched her in the jaw. I wanted to break from Harry's grip around me so I could beat her some more, but it was impossible.

"Come on, Emily - let's go," Harry said to me.

Harry started to pull me toward the door, but my glare remained on Lavender all the way there and I was satisfied to see that there was some blood coming out of her mouth. Good, maybe I broke one of her teeth.

At this point it was hard to tell who hated Lavender more: Hermione or me.

* * *

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	19. An Unwelcome Visitor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 19**

After my fight with Lavender, I started seeing less and less of Ron around the school. I wasn't so sure if it was because he was mad at me for what I did or if it was because she wasn't letting him talk to me. Something told me that it was the latter.

For the most part, I tried to focus on my school work to keep my mind off of everything that was going on with George, but it proved to be rather difficult when the holidays started approaching. Before I knew it, Christmas was only just around the corner and there was only so much that I could do to keep my mind from wandering to what was occupying George so much that he wouldn't answer my letter. The only hope to get my mind off of it now was, sadly enough, Slughorn's Christmas party.

"Hermione's going with McLaggen?" Harry asked in surprise only hours before the party. "I didn't think she liked him."

"I don't think she does," I told him. "Something tells me that this is her way to get back at Ron - everyone knows that he isn't exactly a big fan of Cormac ever since the try-outs."

"She did right in picking him if that was her goal," Harry shrugged. "But he might not notice her since he'll be too busy eating Lavender's face."

I grimaced, but then decided to go back up to the dormitory to get ready with Hermione. Fortunately for us, Lavender was too busy with Ron and wasn't in the room when I found my way up. Since it was a Christmas party, Hermione wore a simple red dress while I wore a similar one that was green and flowed at the bottom nicely. It didn't take us an incredible amount of time to do our hair before we made it back into the common room. Down there, we found Harry, Cormac, and Neville waiting for us.

"Where are you meeting Luna?" I asked Harry.

"Oh, she said that I could stop by the Ravenclaw common room before the party started," he said. "I should probably be going actually - I'll see you there."

Just as Harry walked out of the room, I noticed that Neville was staring at me with a smile on his face while Cormac seemed to be eyeing Hermione like she was something to eat.

"Are you ready?" I asked Neville.

"Y-yeah," he said as he stumbled out of the chair he was sitting in.

When we made it to Slughorn's office, the room was already crowded with so many people that I didn't recognize. I suppose that the potion's professor had gone out of his way to invite as many "interesting" people that he could manage. Being in a large crowd of people that I didn't know wasn't making me feel any more comforted with attending this party in the first place.

"Where's Hermione?" Neville asked.

I looked around and neither Hermione nor Cormac were anywhere to be seen. They must have gotten lost in the crowd or maybe they had found a spot that was less populated.

"No idea," I sighed.

Neville held onto my hand as he attempted to get us out of the largest part of the crowd so we could actually breathe. Unfortunately, the first place that he brought us was exactly where Slughorn happened to be at that moment.

"Ah - there she is!" Slughorn boomed as he patted me aggressively on the shoulder. "Where's your brother?"

"Not sure if he's made it yet," I shrugged. "He was going to pick up his date."

"Oh, but there's your friend Hermione!" the professor said as he looked behind me.

Just as I turned around, I noticed Hermione irritably dragging along Cormac, someone who seemed happier than I had ever seen him. I wanted to ask what was going on, but I wasn't sure if that was a discussion that we should have in front of Slughorn.

"Hey, Hermione," Neville said.

"Where did you two run off to?" she asked, trying to sound polite, but coming off a bit demanding.

"Us?" I pointed to Neville and myself. "We were wondering where you two went - you were right behind us the last time we saw you."

"I'm sure that they got caught up talking to all of the guests here," Slughorn said. "Have you met - oh there's your brother just over there. Let me go have a word with him."

I grimaced as he stomped over to Harry and Luna who were talking to a very drunken looking Professor Trelawney. I wasn't sure that it was such a good idea sending Slughorn over while Harry seemed to be suffering from talking to our old Divination teacher to begin with. Adding Slughorn to the mix could only be torture.

"How about I go get us some punch," Cormac winked at Hermione as he walked over to where the refreshments were being served.

"What's with him?" I asked once he was out of earshot.

"He's a pig," Hermione said miserably. "As soon as we got in here, he practically attacked me under the mistletoe - it was horrible."

"Why did you invite him if you don't like him to begin with?" Neville asked in confusion.

"To make Ron jealous," I bluntly put it.

"It was not!" Hermione said defensively as she started to go red in the face.

Hermione didn't seem to happy that I had just pointed out the purpose of her date, but all of us already knew that she was mad at Ron and this was just her way of revenge. Hermione went to go defend herself again, but stopped herself and looked a little ways behind me. Much to my surprise, I saw Snape standing a little ways off in the distance looking more miserable than usual. Just so I could avoid this conversation with Hermione, I left our group and went to talk to him.

"Having fun?" I asked him with a smirk.

"I'll let you make your own assumptions about that," he answered with a glare.

"Slughorn forced you to come, didn't he?" I assumed.

"Naturally," Snape said as he drank from his goblet and shot a nasty look at the host of the party. "He went as far as to come to my office and bring me here."

"So Slughorn's your date?" I laughed.

"You're hilarious," he said without the slightest look of amusement. "And I am to assume that Mr. Longbottom is your date tonight?"

"That's right," I nodded. "I was just going to come alone, but he asked me and I figured that it wasn't that big of a deal."

"I beg to differ," he muttered as he stared out into the crowd.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked defensively.

"Mr. Longbottom hasn't stopped staring at you since you've entered the room," Snape said. "Dare I continue with this statement or can you make your own deductions?"

"Apparently he's not the only one watching me if you picked up on that," I said with a pointed stare at him.

"I'm only here to observe," Snape said.

"We're only here as friends," I said.

Snape just gave me a stare that made me very uncomfortable. Luckily enough, what happened next was a moment that made him feel even more uncomfortable as Slughorn jumped up behind him and threw his arm around his shoulder.

"How's it going there, Severus!" he said loudly enough that it gained the look of a few people around us. "I see that you're talking to one of my favorites here!"

The look on Snape's face was priceless as he glared at the man that had his arm wrapped around his shoulders. If I could have taken a picture of any moment, it would be this one because I was having a very difficult time containing my laughter.

"Hello, Horace," Snape muttered with a look of pure disgust.

Thankfully, I wasn't the only one that would have to witness this scene because Harry, Luna, Hermione, and Neville all joined us as if they wanted to witness how Snape would react themselves.

"What I find funny, Severus," Horace spoke, now making it more obvious than ever that he had a few drinks in him. "Is that you told me that the girl was a talented potion maker - but never did you mention her brother's talent."

"Horace, you're drunk," Snape bluntly said as he attempted to shove Slughorn's arm off of him, but to no avail.

"Harry here is an amazing potion maker," Slughorn continued, oblivious to Snape's attempts to escape him without hurting him. "Much better than his sister - "

"Hey!" I said in protest.

"This is obviously a new skill because Mr. Potter never showed any skill in my class," Snape said, now giving up with escaping.

"Maybe it's because I'm a much more experienced teacher," Slughorn said. "My work was obviously an inspiration to him."

Everyone in our group became silent instantly and you could practically cut the tension with a knife. The look of pure hatred and annoyance was clear to anyone that looked at Snape's face. However, the newest potions professor was not even paying the slightest bit of attention to the way that Snape was glaring at him.

"Yes, that must be it," Snape said through gritted teeth.

"It's nothing personal, Severus," Slughorn smiled. "But children just seem to be more comfortable in my potions class."

"Okay, Horace," Snape said without interest.

"What do you all think?" Slughorn asked us.

All of us just looked around at one another not wanting to say anything. This was becoming more awkward by the second and now I was wanting to find an escape just as much as Snape was.

"I have to go to the bathroom," I said.

Quickly, I spun around on my feet and walked directly to the nearest bathroom that I could find. There was one around the corner, but I didn't even think about the fact that I didn't actually have to go until I was standing in front of the door.

"Have you seen Hermione?" someone asked behind me as I stepped away from the bathroom door.

It was Cormac and he looked really lost and kept staring around me.

"Is she in the bathroom?" he asked.

"I have no idea," I shrugged. "I'll tell her you're looking for her if I find her."

He stormed away quickly and I had a growing suspicion that he was looking for her so he could start snogging her again - something that I'm sure that she was trying her best to avoid. Although I understood Hermione's anger towards Ron, I couldn't imagine that this was something that she wanted anymore. Cormac was a freak.

Just as I was turning back around in the hallway to make my way back to the party, I found Draco walking around the area looking like he was up to something that he shouldn't be.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

He nearly jumped when he heard my voice, but didn't seem to calm down much when he realized that it was me standing there.

"Nothing," he answered quickly. "Mind your own business."

"I was just asking, no need to get so defensive," I said.

"I'm not defensive," he quickly told me. "You just ask too many questions."

"I asked one question, calm down," I said.

"I am calm - I just need to be going," he said as he went to walk away from the area quickly.

He didn't make it too far before I saw Filch chasing after him from where I saw him originally. When he caught sight of Draco, he looked like he had just won some sort of prize.

"There you are!" Filch declared as he grabbed a hold of Draco's sleeve. "You're coming with me!"

"What did he do?" I asked.

"Wandering around the halls - much like yourself, I see," Filch said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm with Slughorn's party," I answered as I pointed to Slughorn's office.

"Me too," Draco said.

I raised my eyebrow at Draco, knowing that he was lying. I knew for a fact that he hadn't been invited, and even if he had, he probably wouldn't have gone to it anyway.

"Don't lie to me," Filch said.

"He is attending the party," I lied. "He's come with me."

Filch just blinked at me in surprise when I said this. For a moment, he considered whether or not that I was telling the truth, but I guess that he gave up after a moment with me and turned back to Draco.

"Is this true?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's my date," Draco said as he shifted his eyes over to me.

"Then what were you doing upstairs?" he asked.

Draco looked at me expectantly, hoping that I would come up with a lie for him. I knew for a fact that whatever I said had to be thought of quick which meant that it wasn't going to be the best of excuses.

"He was looking for a more private place for us - I was just going to meet him up there," I said quickly.

"A private place for - " Filch started and then stopped mid-sentence, finally thinking about what I might have meant by that. "Get back into Slughorn's office before I report you two to Dumbledore."

He threw Draco toward me and we both quickly walked back into Slughorn's office without a single glance back at Filch.

"Seriously, your excuse that we were looking for a place to - " he started.

"Don't you dare criticize me - I just saved your ass," I snapped. "Besides, you were just standing there! If you could have come up with a quicker response, then why didn't you?"

That shut him up because he knew that I was right. I didn't need to do anything for him, but I did and he should be happy that he isn't going to get detention for doing god knows what upstairs. Judging by how defensive he was acting before, I knew that it was something that he deserved to be in detention for.

"Thank you," he finally said.

"You're welcome," I nodded.

"What are you doing here anyway?" he asked as we walked through the crowd of people.

"I honestly don't know," I sighed. "I figured that it was a Christmas party so it shouldn't be that bad."

"And?" he asked.

"Well, it's Slughorn that's hosting it, so you make your own assumptions," I said.

"So do you have a real date?" he asked.

"Neville's here with me," I said.

"Really?" he asked. "You asked _him_?"

"Excuse you, there's nothing wrong with Neville - he's my best friend," I said defensively. "And for the record, he asked me."

"So does that mean that you and - " he stopped himself, knowing that it was a bad subject to talk about right then.

"I'm not really sure what's happening between George and me," I answered his question anyway. "I sent him a letter about what I heard, but I haven't gotten a response back."

"Oh," he awkwardly said. "I'm sorry..."

"Not your fault," I shrugged and then changed the subject before I broke down again in front of him. "Well, I don't know if you actually wanted to stay, but I suggest waiting a bit before going back out into the halls - I'm sure that Filch is going to make sure that you weren't lying."

"I wasn't lying - you were," Draco said.

"You started it," I said. "I just covered for you."

When I caught up with Harry, Neville, and Hermione, I noticed that Snape and Slughorn were still talking to one another. Apparently he wasn't making an easy escape out of anything.

"Where have you - ?" he started and then looked at who was with me. "What is he doing here?"

"For once, I have the same question," Snape said suddenly. "What are you doing here, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I was just...talking to Emily," he said pointing at me.

"A likely story," Snape said with obvious doubt.

"Oh, he's causing no trouble," Slughorn said. "It's Christmas - the more, the merrier!"

"I beg to differ," Snape grumbled. "I'll be escorting Mr. Malfoy back to his dormitory - good night to you all."

Something about the way that Snape said this made me wonder what was going on. Why was he acting so strangely now that Draco was here? And why did Draco look like he wanted to sprint out of the room the first chance that he got? Was there something that I was missing?

Slughorn began to protest their leaving, but it didn't last long once someone else began talking to the old potions master.

"What were you doing with Draco?" Hermione asked.

"Draco was caught by Filch and I was trying to help him get away," I shrugged. "I thought I was doing him a favor - apparently not."

"You were helping Malfoy?" Harry asked. "Remind me again how we're related."

"Don't mock me," I rolled my eyes. "I was just trying to be a good person."

"Right, because Malfoy definitely deserves your kindness," Harry muttered.

"Maybe he does," I suggested, thinking back to when he helped me during my mental breakdown about George.

"Okay, Emily," he shook his head. "But there was something about that that didn't seem right and I'm going to figure out what it was."

With that, he walked out into the crowd in the same direction that Snape had taken Draco. For a moment, I considered following him, but I decided that there really wasn't much point in it. Besides, I hardly thought that Hermione would let me leave her to be found by Cormac.

"I see that your date hasn't found you yet," I smirked at her.

"Did you find him?" she asked in horror.

"When I was out in the hallway he found me and asked where you were," I told her. "Don't worry, I didn't tell him where you went."

"I just want to leave now before he finds me," she said miserably.

"Wait a minute," I said suddenly realizing that there was someone missing from the group. "Where's Luna?"

"She went over to talk to Professor Trelawney," Neville sighed as he pointed over to the pair in the corner. "I think that Luna got bored over here and decided to talk to her about what ever non-existent creature she could think of."

"Don't be mean," Hermione said.

"You're one to talk," I said to her. "You're constantly arguing with her about the impossible things she talks about."

Hermione folded her arms and looked down at the ground. It was true, they were always arguing, but I hardly thought that either of them meant anything by it. Luna was a bit strange sometimes with the things that she talked about, but that's just who she was and I loved that she wouldn't change that for anyone. Luna always stayed true to herself no matter what other people said.

"Oh no!" Hermione squealed. "There's Cormac - hide me!"

She jumped behind Neville and me and pushed us together so she couldn't be seen through the space between us. I rolled my eyes as Cormac continued to walk past us, hardly noticing that we were even there.

"I think you're safe now," I laughed as Hermione tried to peek around us.

"I'm leaving," she said suddenly.

"Wait - you're just going to leave without telling him anything?" I asked.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do," she said. "Can't you just tell him that I got sick and left - please."

Neville and I looked at each other and sighed. The things that I did to help people. I finally told her that I would cover for her and she thanked me as she walked out of the door. Just when she was out of sight for a couple of minutes, I finally decided that it was time for me to alert Cormac.

"I haven't seen her anywhere," Cormac said when I stepped up to him.

"You must have just missed her," I said. "She just got sick everywhere and had to leave - she told me to tell you that she's sorry."

"She's gone?" he asked in surprise.

"She's sick," I repeated. "So yes, she left."

"Did she go to the hospital wing?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure, Cormac," I said. "She just sort of took off."

"Right, I'll go try and find her," he nodded and then walked out of the door next to us.

We let him walk away for a bit before I started to laugh. It was sad, in a way, that Hermione just stood him up like that. At the same time, he did seem to come off as sort of rude at times and I was trying to decide if he was looking of her to see if she was okay or if he just wanted to snog her some more. I guess we would never figure that one out.

"Is everyone leaving?" Luna spoke up behind us suddenly.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard her. She really did need to speak up when she approached us - how long had she been standing there anyway?

"I guess so," Neville answered her. "Are you leaving Emily?"

"Probably," I said. "I'm not really sure where Harry ran off to..."

"I'm sure he'll make his way back up to the Gryffindor Tower," he said. "You want to walk with us back up, Luna?"

"That would be nice," she said with a smile. "But there's something else that you have to do first."

"What's that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

With a big smile, she pointed to the top of the archway that stood above Neville and me. To my surprise, there was a large mistletoe that was growing just above us. When I looked back at Neville, he was red faced and looked a little embarrassed.

"We should probably just go," he murmured.

"You'll be cursed," Luna said as her eyes went wide. "Didn't you read the article in the Quibbler that my father wrote about mistletoes?"

"Must have missed that one," I said.

She just stared at us intently until I rolled my eyes and pulled Neville's head down by the collar and went to kiss him on the cheek, but he must have thought differently as he kissed me full on the mouth. It took me a second to realize what had just happened and I wasn't sure which of us was more surprised when we broke apart.

"Sorry," we both said at once.

My face was probably as red as my hair and we took no time in putting as much distance between us as we could at the moment. Luna, who was standing just off to the side, seemed to be pleased with herself enough to walk through the door that we had just moved from.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Y-yeah, s-sure," Neville stammered as his eyes shifted to me.

We walked through the corridors in complete silence and only the awkward coughs and the occasional humming that came from Luna broke it. No one seemed to be walking through the corridors, so it was quieter than it should have been. So, naturally, there had to be something loud that broke through the calm and I would have never expected what it was.

"Listen - I just need to talk to her."

"Mr. Weasley, I don't think you understand me when I say that I couldn't care less what you want - you are coming to my office."

Those voices sounded too familiar, but I must have been mistaken. It wasn't until I heard a third voice and a sudden appearance in our line of sight that I realized what was going on.

"If she even sees you, I'm going to hex you - oh, hi Emily," Harry said as he attempted to block the two people that were with him.

Luna, Neville, and I stopped dead in our tracks and I felt my throat close up when I looked ahead of me. There, clutched by the back of his collar by Severus Snape, was George Weasley who looked horrified that I was there.

"W-what is going on?" I choked out as I took a step back from them.

"I came here to talk - " George started.

"He broke into the school," Snape snarled.

"Let him go," I said to Snape.

With a look of annoyance, he threw George out of his grasp and let him walk up to me. Everyone else in the room disappeared and all I could think about was the fact that he was standing in front of me. So many emotions were running through me. I wasn't sure whether to scream at him, cry because of the situation, or both of them at once. Through it all, I tried to maintain my composure enough to say something.

"What are you dong here?" I asked with my voice cracking slightly.

"I wanted to talk to you in person," he said quietly as his eyes shifted around to all the people that were standing around us. "Is there somewhere we can go that's more private?"

"Anything that you say to me will be heard by everyone here regardless," I told him. "So you might as well say it now."

George just looked around at everyone skeptically, but they all seemed to be glued to their spots. Well, aside from Luna who looked like she was out somewhere in space.

"I don't know where to start," he said shakily.

"Please tell me that it was Fred and not you," I said helplessly.

"Listen, I - " he started.

"Were you or were you not with Angelina?" I demanded. "It's a yes or no question, George."

"It's a long story," he said hopelessly.

My entire body felt like it just collapsed inside itself. It was true. It wasn't an illusion - George had cheated on me and there was nothing that I could do about it.

"Just let me explain," he said. "It isn't what you think - "

"There's nothing to explain," I said with my voice cracking. "Severus - can you please get him out of here?"

George opened his mouth to speak again, but Snape grabbed him by the arm and practically dragged him out of the corridor and out of my sight. It was at that moment that I realized how badly I was shaking and how many eyes were staring at me as I tried to maintain my composure. I felt like the world was spinning around me and I couldn't believe that it was true. It was like the day that I found out about it all over again, but so much worse because there wasn't any doubt now.

* * *

**Thanks for reading - tell me what you think about what happened. Do you think that there's more to the story than what was said or do you think it's the end for Emily and George?**

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	20. Awkward Amends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 20**

After the incident with George in the corridors, the others escorted me back to the common room in complete silence. Not a single tear fell from my eye through the numbness that had taken me over. As I sat in the common room of the Gryffindor Tower, I stared into the fire in front of me as I let my mind go completely blank to block out every emotion I could.

"Emily, I'm so sorry," Hermione said.

I just held up my hand without looking at her, just hoping that she wouldn't continue. Naturally, being who Hermione was, she both understood and ignored my wishes completely as she continued.

"Maybe you should go talk to him," she suggested.

"I don't want to talk to him," I murmured.

"He said that there was an explanation," she continued.

I just continued to stare into the fire without saying a word. It had been nearly an hour since I had seen George in the corridors and I could still feel the ache of what had happened. Part of me wanted to go down there to see what he could say to defend himself, but the other part of me wanted him to suffer down there with Harry and Snape. I knew that I had every right to be mad at him and I was so angry for what he did, but that doesn't mean that I have to act like a two year old.

"Emily, I'm sorry for what I did earlier," Neville said quietly across from me.

"Don't worry about it, Neville," I sighed.

"No, I shouldn't have done it..." he said as he looked at the floor.

"Wait - what happened?" Hermione asked in confusion.

Neville and I looked at each other and coughed. As if it wasn't awkward enough to remember that he had kissed me earlier already. I truly believed that he didn't mean anything by it and his apology really was sincere. Regardless of what happened then, I had more pressing issues to attend to.

Without saying anything to Hermione, I stood from my chair slowly and looked toward the portrait hole before I made a few steps toward it.

"They should be in Snape's office," Hermione said.

"Good luck, Emily," Neville smiled.

Trying to do my best to look hopeful, I gave them all a smile as I walked out of the door. I let out a sigh as I walked through the corridors and continued to clench and unclench my fists as I slowly made my way through the hallways. The trip there seemed to fly by - most likely because my mind was flooding with anything that I could possible say to George without bursting into tears.

When I got to the door, I paused and tried to see if I could hear anything through the barrier. Even though I couldn't hear any yelling, I could hear the angered murmurs through the door that nearly made me want to retreat. I took one more deep breath before I knocked on the door a couple of times before I pushed it open myself.

As soon as the door was out of the way, I could see George sitting between two very distraught looking men that looked like they had just given a lecture to the red head in the room. When they saw me, they immediately stopped what they were doing and just looked at me in bewilderment.

"Emily, what are you doing here?" Snape asked.

"I need to talk to George," I murmured as I looked down at the ground to avoid their gaze.

"I don't know if we're done here - " Harry started.

"I believe that Mr. Weasley has explained himself well enough to us," Snape cut him off. "Follow me, Mr. Potter."

"She's my sister - I have every right to sit in here and make sure that - " Harry began again.

Snape grabbed Harry by the arm and rolled his eyes as he proceeded to drag my brother out of the room. Although he was protesting, it didn't seem to matter to Snape at all and they were out of the room within moments.

Once the door was shut behind them, I stepped slowly over to the table that George was sitting at and sat down across from him before I finally plucked up the courage to look at him. As soon as I did, I felt my heart clinch in my chest and I tried to hope for the best out of this.

"You said that you had an explanation for what happened?" I started the conversation off. "And I figured that I might as well hear it..."

"Right," George nodded, and for the first time I noticed how red and puffy his face was. "I didn't have time to explain myself before I was...taken from the room, but what you heard isn't exactly what it sounds like."

"Then enlighten me," I said dully.

"Angelina did kiss me," George said. "But that was only because she thought that I was Fred."

Everything in my mind went blank. This thought had never even occurred to me before and it seemed like something that I should have recognized immediately.

"W-what?" I asked dumbfounded. "Then why didn't you tell me that to start off with?"

"Because I...might have kissed her back," George murmured without looking into my eyes.

"Why?" I asked immediately.

"I don't know," he sighed and put his hand through his hair. "I really don't know...it just sort of happened and I didn't know what to do..."

I nodded and started picking at the desk that sat in between us. I didn't know how to process the information that I was being given because of the numbness that I still felt. Giving time in between our conversations seemed to have eased the pain to some extent.

"I'm really sorry," he said with a crack in his voice. "I didn't want to hurt you...I wish I could take it all back."

Something about the way he said it made me believe that it was sincere. Maybe he was really telling the truth - it was an honest mistake. That's when I thought of something that made my face drain of color. Had I done the same thing earlier today when Neville kissed me? Was it the same circumstance? Either way, I felt compelled to tell him the fact that had been gnawing at me since it had happened.

"Neville kissed me," I basically blurted out.

"W-what?" George stammered and looked completely surprised.

"It was under the mistletoe just before you arrived at the castle," I quickly said without looking at him properly.

"And?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And what?" I asked.

"Did you enjoy it?" he asked with a crack in his voice again. "Did you kiss him back?"

"It doesn't matter if I did or not," I retorted. "The fact is that I felt guilty enough about it to tell you that it happened instead of hiding it from you like you did!"

"Oh, so this is my fault?" he asked, his voice raising. "You thought I was cheating on you, so you thought it was just fine to go snogging other guys."

"I'm not going around snogging other guys!" I said. "And how dare you yell at me for this - it isn't my fault that you didn't have the nerve to explain to me what happen and just let me suffer!"

"So you thought that you could just get me back by snogging _Neville_ of all people?" George spat back.

"It wasn't like that - it wasn't an accident!" I defended myself.

"An accident?" he scoffed. "You're joking, right? You think that Neville kissed you _accidentally_?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked angrily.

"Don't act like you don't know, Emily," George shook his head. "Neville's been looking for this opportunity for years and you just let him take the chance."

"He's just my friend, why can't you understand that?" I asked.

"Because he's been drooling over you since first year," George said. "And I'm just supposed to act like that never happened?"

"It doesn't matter what he's been doing because I don't look at him like that," I said. "He's just my friend!"

"Is that why you let him kiss you?" he asked.

"How dare you throw that in my face!" I shouted. "The only reason we're having this discussion is because you couldn't stay away from Angelina!"

"I already told you that it isn't like that with her!" he shouted.

"And it isn't like that with Neville either!" I shouted back.

Just then the door to the room swung open with Harry and Snape looking around at both of us. It wasn't until that moment that I realized that we had both gotten to our feet and I suddenly realized where we were.

"Is there a problem in here?" Snape asked calmly.

"Not at all, professor," George spat.

"Don't talk to him like that," I snapped.

"Oh, so you're on good terms with him now, are you?" George said irritably.

"I suggest that the two of you stop shouting before the entire castle comes to investigate," Snape ordered. "Is that understood?"

"And if you keep yelling at my sister then there will be a place in St. Mungo's for you," Harry threatened George.

"Stay out of it, Harry," I said.

"It's kind of hard to do that when I can hear every word you're saying out there," Harry motioned to the corridors.

"It isn't my fault that you have your ear pressed to the door," I muttered.

"That's enough," Snape demanded. "Why do you children always insist on arguing?"

Snape walked over and sat at the desk at the end of the room and just looked at us all with an expression that could only be described as pure annoyance. After a moment of awkward silence between us all, he finally spoke up.

"Now, since the two of you cannot seem to come up with a resolution yourselves, I suppose that I shall suggest some of my own," Snape said.

George and I looked at one another for a moment in confusion, but then I remembered that I was mad at him and I turned back to the professor in front of us.

"I suggest that you end the relationship now since you are unable to forgive one another," Snape said simply.

My mouth dropped as I looked at the man behind the desk and I could hardly believe that he would suggest something like that. Wasn't he supposed to be helping? Clearly he was only going to make things worse.

"Are you mad?" George asked.

"That depends on who you ask," Snape said nonchalantly. "Now what seems to be the problem? The two of you are clearly angry with each other and cannot come to terms on the clear misunderstanding that has occurred."

"That doesn't mean that we want to break up," I said.

"People have arguments, you know?" George said.

"Then why are you continuing to fight over something that clearly will not effect the status of your relationship?" he asked.

"Because...well, we're mad," I stammered.

"The two of you seem to be more logical than that...for the most part anyway," he added casually. "So why do you continue to waste each others time bickering about something that has already been resolved as an accident between both of you?"

George and I looked at each other and I suddenly felt guilty for yelling at him. I looked back down at the ground and Snape shifted in his chair and looked at both of us.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have some work that needs attending to," Snape said. "So if you could kindly resolve this elsewhere, then I would appreciate it very much."

He looked at us expectantly before we made our way toward the door. I nearly jumped on my way out, completely forgetting that Harry was still in the room. Judging by how quiet he was being, I highly suspected that he felt like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As if that wasn't the most common occurrence in the world for him...

When the door was closed behind us, Harry kind of awkwardly walked quickly away from the two of us as we walked silently down the corridors of Hogwarts. As soon as he was out of sight, George spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Emily," he said. "I overreacted..."

"I guess I did too," I sighed. "I knew that you meant it when you said that it was an accident..."

"I still want to punch Neville in the gut," George muttered.

"Don't be mean," I said. "And, for the record, he did apologize for that."

"Please, you know that he enjoyed it," George scoffed.

I threw him a look and he let out another sigh.

"I'm sorry," he repeated himself.

"And I'm sorry for not letting you explain yourself when you got here," I told him. "I guess I was a little upset...and I guess I want to punch Angelina in the gut too."

He smirked at me and we continued to walk until we got to the castle doors. We stood there awkwardly for a moment and I didn't really know what I was supposed to do at that point.

"So...are we okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said after a moment of hesitation.

"This is awkward, right?" he asked with a smirk.

"Most definitely," I laughed.

"I'll see you for the holidays, right?" he asked hopefully.

"If you're lucky," I winked.

I heard footsteps walking down the halls and I looked over to see Professor McGonagall walking through the corridors. She looked at us for a moment without any reaction, but she stopped in her tracks and did a double take when she realized that George was standing with me.

"Mr. Weasley?" she asked as she approached us. "What are you doing in the castle?"

"I stopped by for a visit," George tried to explain.

"A visit?" she asked in surprise. "And why, may I ask, was I not informed of a visitor? Who gave you the authorization?"

"It's nice to see you too, Professor McGonagall," George said.

"Wait, how did you get into the castle?" I asked George suddenly thinking about it.

"A magician never reveals his tricks," George winked. "But I am just leaving - have a lovely evening, Professor."

McGonagall looked astonished as George kissed me on the forehead abruptly and walked out of the door as if he hadn't just been called out for being in the building to begin with. Honestly, I wanted to talk to him some more, but I knew it wouldn't be possible as long as McGonagall was aware of his unauthorized presence in the castle.

"I'll just be going back to my dormitory," I said awkwardly to McGonagall.

"Miss Potter, you are aware of how dangerous it is to invite people to the castle without permission at a time like this?" she questioned.

"I didn't invite him, Professor," I told her. "He just showed up. His presence didn't go unnoticed by the faculty - I can assure you that Professor Snape will answer any questions that you have in regards to that."

With that, I simply walked away from her hoping that she wouldn't interrogate me further. It wasn't unreasonable for her to think as she did because, for all she knew, that could have been a Death Eater or someone that was trying to do damage to the school and its inhabitants.

When I got back to the common room, I was in much better spirits. Even though things were awkward with George because of our argument, I was happy to say that it was only a misunderstanding that was resolved in the end. Sure, I wasn't happy about what happened, but it was an honest mistake on both parts and I would be a hypocrite to be angry with George over Angelina if I expected him to be okay with what happened between Neville and me.

Naturally, I had completely forgotten that I left behind an all-too-curious Hermione Granger in the Gryffindor common room who was sure to question every detail of what happened in Snape's office with George. Not only her, but Harry and Ginny were also waiting for my return.

"So is my brother still alive?" Ginny asked when he saw me.

"Partially," I smiled.

"Is everything okay between you two?" Hermione asked looking incredibly sympathetic.

"We talked...sort of," I said awkwardly. "McGonagall sort of interrupted before we could say too much."

"So I don't need to kill him?" Harry asked.

"Not today," I shrugged and sat down next to him and nudged him. "So what's it like being Snape's new best friend?"

"You're hilarious," Harry said without expression. "We just had the common goal of wanting to remove your boyfriend from existence."

"I know it's hard for you to admit that you two had a bonding moment, but I witnessed it," I teased. "Don't deny the moment, Harry."

Harry shook his head and laughed. Even though I knew that they managed to get through part of the day without being at each others throats, it wasn't going to change a thing. Harry getting along with Snape was about as likely as Hermione and me getting along with Lavender. Not a chance.

"Wait a minute, what did you two even say to George?" I asked Harry.

"Just threatening his life," Harry shrugged. "You know, the usual."

"He looked terrified when I got in there," I said. "Maybe it's because he managed to bring you two together for a common cause. That's a scary thought in itself."

Harry shrugged and then I got to thinking about something strange that happened today that I hadn't actually thought about. Harry seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he spoke before I got the chance to say it myself.

"Wait a minute, you realize this means that you took relationship advise from Snape?" Harry asked.

"Freaky," I grimaced.

The fact that Snape had somehow managed to shame us into our argument long enough to come to terms was weird to even imagine, let alone experience. Who knew that I would one day be able to say that Snape helped mend my relationship with George?

We all jumped when the common room door opened up. When I turned, I didn't even try to hide rolling my eyes when I saw Lavender walking in with Ron followed behind her. Both of their hair suggested that they weren't just having a cup of tea. They were, undoubtably, doing the only thing that they seemed to know how to do with one another: snogging. And that was horrifying to imagine them eating each other's faces off somewhere in the depths of the school.

"Hey, everyone," Ron waved with a cheesy grin on his face.

Hermione and I just stared at him without saying a word. I guess it wasn't right to be mad at him just for associating with Lavender, but that's exactly why I didn't want to talk to him. How could he be with someone as horrid as her? He could do so much better than that scum that he calls a girlfriend.

"Hey, Ron," Harry spoke up when no one else did.

"Hello Harry," Lavender said, intentionally not speaking to anyone else.

"I'm just going off to bed," Lavender said before she turned to Ron.

She grabbed his head forcefully and planted her mouth on his. I had to stop myself from gagging at the sight of their locked lips and I just looked around at everyone else. Unfortunately, my eyes found Hermione who looked like she was ready to attack Lavender on the spot.

"Goodnight, Won-Won," she smiled largely.

"Gross," I muttered.

"What was that?" Lavender asked me.

"Just thinking aloud, don't mind me," I said.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself," she retorted.

"Oh believe me, you haven't heard half of what I think about you," I smiled forcefully.

"No one cares," Lavender rolled her eyes as she walked toward the stairs.

"Sleep well, Lavender," I called. "I really hope that nothing creeps up on you in the night."

She turned back to me and there was a flicker of confusion and fear in her eyes before she scoffed and kept walking up there.

"You're not going to suffocate her, are you?" Ginny asked.

"No, that's too obvious," I said. "I'll try a more creative approach."

"She's my girlfriend, Emily," Ron said. "Don't - "

"Oh, calm down," I said. "I won't cause any permanent damage."

He just looked up at the ceiling in defeat before he walked up a separate set of stairs to go to his dorm. Once he was gone, I noticed how much Hermione seemed to relax. His presence alone seemed to give her anxiety.

"I'm so ready for the holidays to begin," Ginny said. "I don't know how much more of them I can take."

It was an understood agreement between us all that we were ready to get away from the castle for some peace and quiet. Though I doubt that the absence of Lavender Brown would make things any less awkward between Ron and the rest of us than they already were.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! The next chapter should be up sometime next week - leave a comment and tell me what you think! Any ideas of some sort of madness that Emily could come up with for revenge on Lavender?**

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	21. Holidays With the Weasleys

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 21**

Going back to the Burrow was something that I had long looked forward to. Even through the mishap that I had with George, there was nothing that I wanted more than to escape my troubles for a small bit and go somewhere that I was expected to do nothing more than be part of a normal family for Christmas. Boarding the train was a very slow business as it was snowing heavily as we made our way out of the castle, but the ride there seemed as if it flew by.

We said a few farewells to the people that we wouldn't be seeing until after the holidays, but we all made it brief so we could make it back to our homes. The only person that we seemed to be having to wait up for was Ron, who was making his farewell to Lavender far too long and far too physical. Of course, it probably would have been a better experience for him if it wasn't for what I had done to Lavender the past few days.

Since our little chat in the common room, I had made it a point to think as my boyfriend would in the act of revenge through the mindless pranks that I came up with. On the first night, I thought that it would be amusing to perform a sticking charm on her face once she had gotten out of bed. Naturally, the first thing that she pressed her face onto was Ron's mouth. It was amusing to literally every other person that saw them (except for the pair of course). I could have sworn that I saw Professor McGonagall laugh to herself when she had to collect them to bring them to the hospital wing to have them removed from each other.

Just when they thought that it was over, the next thing I did - thanks to having a boyfriend in the pranking industry - I grabbed my complimentary bottle of itching powder and spread it all over Lavender's bed. However, this was no ordinary bottle of itching powder. It was made to feel like the person infected had bugs biting and crawling all over them, something that I'm sure that my dear friend Lavender would enjoy so very much. The following day, I heard her squealing as she fell out of her bed and began smacking various parts of her anatomy to get rid of the "bugs" that were all over her. Hermione threw me a look, but I knew by the small smirk on her face that she was at least slightly amused. This itching powder didn't go away easily either and, as I would have suspected, the first person that she ran to was her Won-won. He seemed like he wanted to help at first, but at the mention of spiders, he seemed a little hesitant to be around her and she had to be escorted to the hospital wing shortly after lunch where she had taken to rolling around the floor to get rid of the "insects."

"I know you're involved with this," Ron accused as they brought her out of the room.

"What makes you think that?" I asked casually as I bit into my sandwich.

He just shook his head and raced after her. Harry shook his head when he looked at me, knowing that I was the one that caused all this trouble. It was worth it in the end though - just to see her face and her reaction to it all. She deserved a little terror in her life.

* * *

When we arrived at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley greeted her husband as we walked through the door and seemed happy enough that we all made it there without causing any trouble to speak of. From what I could tell, she had already taken to decorating the house, but hadn't quite finished yet judging by the boxes of decorations that she had lying around. There were red, green, and golden streamers spread around the house in a fashionable manner while the tree sat in the sitting room with ornaments that seemed be dated back to years before I had even been born. There were mistletoes, bells, and bows as far as the eye could see and I could only imagine what Mrs. Weasley was concocting in the kitchen at the moment.

"How have you all been?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she ushered us into the house one by one. "I imagine that the trip here wasn't too rough - all of your limbs seem to be intact."

"What did you expect, Molly?" Mr. Weasley inquired. "I'm not completely useless."

"I know, dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled as she kissed her husband on the cheek. "I was only joking with you."

"The decorations looks wonderful, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said as he took a look around the rooms. "Did you do this all on your own?"

"Most of it, yeah," Mrs. Weasley admitted.

Then a couple stepped into the room looking particularly offended as they stared at their mother. In what appeared to be some of their better, and more colorful may I add, suits, they beamed at us all.

"We helped too, thanks a lot," Fred said to his mother.

"Of course you did, dear," Mrs. Weasley said to them both. "Have you er...seen your brother and his fiancé around?"

"They're here?" I asked in unmasked horror.

"Unfortunately - I mean, of course," Mrs. Weasley said quickly to cover up her first comment.

"Fleur is out in the backyard," George said. "She was saying something to us...I can't remember what it was though."

"Something about how she spent Christmas back at home," Fred shrugged. "We just walked off - she probably didn't even notice that we left."

"Oh dear, I hope not," Mrs. Weasley said. "She might come looking for me."

"Is Bill here?" Ginny asked.

"I imagine that he's not too far away from Fleur," Mr. Weasley. "She doesn't let him run off to far, that girl doesn't."

"Poor guy," I muttered.

We settled into the Burrow as quickly as we normally did and soon found ourselves working about as we usually did. Due to the fact that visitors would be coming around soon enough, many of us were sent around to do some cleaning of the house and preparing of the food for the Christmas feast. I was set off in the room with Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Hermione where we were to be peeling potatoes and shucking some corn.

"What is this Lavender girl like that Ron is talking to?" Mrs. Weasley asked us as she worked through another potato.

"Talking to?" Hermione scoffed as she aggressively ripped open another ear of corn.

"He hardly ever _talks_ to her, Mum," Ginny rolled her eyes. "It's completely disgusting to see them around each other."

"She's horrible," I told her. "I cannot believe that Ron is with her, to be honest. He must not have any self respect for himself."

"Is she really that awful?" Mrs. Weasley sighed.

"Yes," the three of us answered at once.

"You know, I was always hoping that he would go for Hermione - " Mrs. Weasley started.

"Oh, please don't start that," Ginny said as Hermione's face went scarlet.

"Sorry, sorry," Mrs. Weasley held up her hands. "Just giving my opinion, that's all."

Hermione didn't expect to hear that and it took her a moment to recoil from the shock. I couldn't gauge how irritated she was, but I didn't think that talking about Ron much longer could keep her sane. Glad that she changed the subject, Mrs. Weasley then turned to my brother.

"What about Harry?" she asked. "Has he found a lady friend for himself?"

"A lady friend?" Ginny laughed at the wording as her mother gave her a look.

"Not that we know of," I shrugged. "Though I heard from Hermione that one girl seems to have taken a liking to him."

"Ramilda Vane," Hermione nodded. "I hear her talking about him in the common room sometimes. I think she is set on the idea that the two were made for each other."

"Has she even had a proper talk with him?" I asked.

"I doubt it," Hermione said. "It seems to be more of an infatuation than anything. I hardly think that she is Harry's type."

Mrs. Weasley seemed to enjoy hearing the gossip of Hogwarts more than I would have thought. Naturally, her next thoughts went to my most recent affairs - some that I assumed that she knew the entire story of given that she had already spoken to her son.

"How has George been behaving lately?" she asked. "I heard that you two were quarreling."

"Everything seems to be fine now," I said. "Nothing out of the ordinary since then. I don't think that Professor McGonagall will forgive him for breaking into the castle anytime soon though."

"You should know that he did that purely out of panic," Mrs. Weasley said. "He was sure that you were finished with him, and you had every right to be mad at him considering the information that you were given."

"I was a little rash with my decisions," I admitted to her as I peeled through another potato. "But I believe that we have settled things now."

"He's a good boy, George is," Mrs. Weasley smiled. "And he loves you dearly, do not forget that. George is a different sort of boy, but I think that you two make a lovely pair. And you keep him out of trouble."

"I don't know if I do all that," I laughed. "I don't think that anyone could keep him out of trouble."

After we finished preparing that portion of the meal and it was put safely away, the three of us were released into the rest of the house. I went to find George, being as we had hardly spoken since my arrival, but I was stopped when I noticed Harry and Ron whispering urgently in the other room. Being the subtle person I usually was, I just barged into the room and they both went silent at once.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly.

"I know when you're lying to me, Harry," I said.

"It's none of your concern," Ron insisted.

"Actually, it really is," I said as I folded my hands. "Why are you two being so secretive?"

"If you must know, it's about Snape," Ron said, earning an angry look from Harry for telling me. "And Harry figured that you wouldn't want to hear anything bad about your best friend."

"Thinking that he's plotting out our murder again, do we?" I asked them both in disappointment. "What's he done to make you think that?"

"It doesn't matter, Emily," Harry said. "You aren't going to want to hear it - you'll defend him even if I had the best proof in the world."

"Which you don't because you're wrong," I said.

"You don't even know what I heard," my brother said.

"I don't need to," I insisted. "You generally twist anything he says to make him out to be the bad guy. Just when I thought you two were getting along with all that nonsense with George - "

"We were not _getting along_," Harry scoffed. "We only had a common purpose - that is all."

"Okay, _fine_," I rolled my eyes. "What is it that you heard from him to make you so suspicious?"

Harry and Ron looked at one another as if they were contemplating whether they should actually tell me. To be honest, Harry wasn't the best at keeping secrets from me and he probably figured that too. Finally, Harry looked up at me and let out a sigh.

"Just before we found George in the castle, I overheard him talking to Malfoy," Harry said. "Snape was offering to help Malfoy with something - he said something about how he made an Unbreakable Vow with his mother about it."

"So you're just going to assume that it was something bad?" I asked.

"Why would he make an Unbreakable Vow with Malfoy's mother if it was something good?" Harry asked. "And you've said it yourself that you think that Malfoy is up to something."

"Wait a minute - what's an Unbreakable Vow?" I asked.

"It's a vow that cannot be broken," Ron said.

"Thanks a lot for that one, Sherlock," I rolled my eyes. "What happens if you break it, I meant."

"You could die," Ron said grimly.

We all went silent for a moment before I decided to turn the subject back to the original topic.

"How do you know that Snape was telling the truth?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"What if Snape was just trying to get Draco to talk?" I asked. "Just to figure out what he was up to?"

"If that was the case, he failed miserably," my brother said. "Malfoy didn't give a single hint about what he was doing."

"See, this is why we don't discuss Snape around you," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Well, maybe I would listen if you all actually had some real evidence," I retorted. "You two _always_ assume the worst of Snape when he's never actually done anything to give you a reason to not trust him."

"He's never given us a reason to trust him either," Harry argued.

"Do I need to go down the list on how many times the man has helped us, or can I just skip over that part?" I asked as I put my hand on my hip.

They went silent, but I could tell that it was just so I would stop talking. Seeing that this conversation was going nowhere, I decided to step away and let them go back to complaining like they usually would do. There really wasn't any point in convincing those two boys that they were wrong about Snape because they would hate him no matter what. However, in the end, they would see that I was right all along.

Because of the amount of guests that we had in the house, I was made to share a room with Ginny and Fleur, much to our disapproval. Hermione would have stayed with us as well, but she made her visit short with us before her parents came by the house to pick her up. She seemed happy enough to not have to be cooped up with Fleur and I envied her escape from the horrible bride-to-be.

"Zis iz going to be vonderful!" Fleur clapped her hands once Ginny and I found our way to our room. "Just like a sleepover!"

"Is it too late to sleep in the bathroom?" Ginny muttered under her breath.

Luckily the time spent around Fleur was put to a bare minimum as we busied ourselves around the house to set up for Christmas. I did everything I could to keep my distance from her, but there was no avoiding her at the end of the day and she made sure to talk my ear off every time she had the chance. George saved my neck on several occasions where he would say that he needed help with something on the other side of the house. Of course, it was usually nothing and we would end up snogging in private. What Fleur didn't know wouldn't hurt her though.

Christmas came around so quickly that I hardly realized that it was there when it came. The snow was covering the ground and was high enough that we all could make some substantial snowmen by the time the day came around. George and I were finishing up a very lopsided snowman when the guests began to arrive.

"I think you made its head a little big," Lupin smiled as he approached us.

"It was meant to match yours," George joked.

"Oi!" Lupin said as they both shook hands and patted each other on the back.

Tonks wasn't far behind him and I noticed that her mood didn't seem to have improved since the last time I saw her. She put on a fake smile and gave us both hugs, but I knew that there was something bothering her that she didn't want to talk about. I just wish that she would be her usual happy self once more - I hated seeing her this miserable.

"Is Molly around?" Tonks asked me while looking at the ground.

"She was just in the sitting room, I believe," I said.

"Thanks," Tonks put on a false smile as she went through the door.

As soon as she was out of sight, I turned to Lupin. He looked like he knew what I was going to say already and put on a small grimace that suggested that he didn't want to talk about it. Naturally, I ignored that.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" I asked him.

"Er...it's complicated," Lupin murmured.

"Then maybe you could help her," I said.

"I don't know, Emily," Lupin sighed.

With that, my former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor walked into the Burrow and out of sight. George, choosing to not think too much into what was going on, continued to work on the snowman that we had just made.

"Do you think he needs a hat?" he asked me as he stepped back and looked at him.

"I don't know, but he needs a pipe," I said as I went into the nearby shed and pulled one out from it.

I stuck it in the snowman's mouth and George threw the hat that he was wearing onto it. I smiled, satisfied with our work, but George seemed to be thinking otherwise.

"There's something missing," he thought aloud.

"And what would that be?" I asked.

George tapped on his chin for a minute and then came to the realization. He pulled his wand from his coat and gave it a wave. Suddenly smoke began to come from the pipe and the snowman's arm came to life and waved at the two of us. Its head moved around and, once he pulled the pipe from his mouth, he gave us me a smile.

"Just a little magic," George smiled.

"Excellent," I nodded in approval.

He pulled me into a hug as we stared at our creation. The thought of making a snowman would have never occurred to me since I'd never made one as such.

"Ah, there's the happy, young couple," Fred said as he stepped out of the door. "Mum is calling for you two - dinner is about to start."

"Oh, right," George said.

"There aren't any more people coming?" I asked Fred as we stepped through the door of the Burrow.

"Were you expecting someone else?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, but my mind had already gone to Percy. The thought of him showing up was unrealistic though. Ever since he had stopped talking to them so long ago, he hadn't even bothered to send a card on holidays. Why did I think that Christmas dinner would be any different? I also had a small, burning hope that Snape might have shown up because he was in the Order. I didn't actually think he would show up, but it was just something that I wanted. He was, no doubt, spending his Christmas time at Hogwarts like the rest of the staff.

"Okay, are we ready to start?" Mrs. Weasley asked happily as she saw us walking in.

Everyone agreed as they began to grab for the food as I took a seat next to Harry and Ginny as Fred and George sat on the opposite side of me. I waited for a moment to let other people get their food first before I grabbed for some myself.

No one spoke for a little while as we enjoyed the food that Mrs. Weasley had spent so much time cooking. As usual, it was excellent - the best food I had ever had. Just as I was about to compliment her, along with some of the family that had already done so, I was stopped when I heard a pair of footsteps walk through the door and Mrs. Weasley's face lose all color.

"Percy?" she asked.

My eyes went wide with shock when I turned around to see Percy Weasley standing there alongside of Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minster of Magic.

"I hope you don't mind our visit," Scrimgeour spoke first. "We were just around the area on business, and Percy here couldn't resist a family visit on Christmas."

Something about Percy suggested that he wasn't all that thrilled about being there, but I guessed that he was probably asked about his family by the Minister. It probably would have made a bad impression on the Minister if Percy would have told him that he had no interest in joining his family to celebrate the holiday.

Mrs. Weasley stood up from her chair and ran over to hug the son that she hadn't seen for so long. However, Percy's father seemed to be stuck in his chair as he stared off at our unexpected visitors.

"Yes, hello Mother," Percy said as he awkwardly hugged his mother that seemed to be cracking his ribs in the embrace.

"Come and join us, we would be delighted," Mrs. Weasley said to the pair.

We pulled up a couple more chairs and Percy and Scrimgeour squeezed in around the table. They were placed on the other side of Ginny, which made them uncomfortably close. Maybe it was my past experience with Ministry officials, but something about their presence was a little unnerving.

We ate for a few more minutes before I had finished my plate. Thinking that I was relieved from the awkwardness of the room, I pushed my plate away and began to stand up.

"Oh, I see that you are finished," Scrimgeour said to me. "I was just about to ask you for a word, would you mind?"

I looked over at Harry, who seemed a little skeptical, but then I turned back to the Minister.

"I suppose not," I said.

"And Harry - you as well," he added.

Although I was relieved that I wasn't the only one that would be forced to have a conversation with the Minister, I felt bad that Harry would have to come along with us. Since he wanted to have a conversation with both of us couldn't be the best of signs. As I pushed my chair into the table, a sickening feeling that this was the only reason that Percy and the Minster came rose through my chest. So Percy didn't want to see his family after all - he was just trying to get Scrimgeour in contact with us...

Harry, Scrimgeour, and I stepped outside and walked around the perimeter of the house in silence for a while. He commented on how wonderful the house looked for the holiday season and smiled at some of the snowmen that were built around the yard. Of course, Harry and I knew that he was just trying to small talk us and we both remained silent for the most part until the Minister finally came around to what he brought us out here for.

"You two are very hard to get in contact with, you know?" he chuckled to himself.

"I couldn't imagine that it would be difficult for the Minster for Magic to get in contact with anyone," I commented.

"You'd be surprised," he said.

"Why do you need to talk to us?" Harry asked bluntly.

"Well, it's just about these rumors that I've heard around," he said slowly. "I wanted to hear what your reaction was to them."

"Which rumors are you talking about?" I asked.

"There are a lot about us, you'll have to be more specific," Harry added.

Of course, I had a feeling that Harry and I both knew exactly what Scrimgeour was referring to, but we wanted him to give the word. He was talking about what people said about us with Voldemort, but I hardly wanted to address this concern with Scrimgeour.

"The one about you two being the Chosen Ones," Scrimgeour said. "I'm sure that you are aware of it - I have been meaning to discuss this matter with Dumbledore, but he won't respond. I'm sure, of course, that he's spoken to you about this."

Harry and I looked at one another. There was no way that we were going to let the Minster know what we knew. The rumors, of course, were true that we were the ones that would have to face Voldemort in the end, but that was not for him to know. It probably wouldn't be the best thing in the world to inform someone like Scrimgeour of this fact.

"So your saying that you believe these rumors are true?" I chuckled.

"It's hard to say," Scrimgeour said. "You two have faced You-Know-Who before."

"Doesn't mean that we will do it again," Harry commented.

"Why would you think that a pair of sixteen year olds would be the ones to face one of the most powerful wizards of all time?" I asked, eyeing Harry with amusement. "It's complete rubbish if you ask me."

"It sounds silly when you put it like that, I agree," Scrimgeour said. "But the whole Wizarding World seems to believe that you are the ones."

At this point, I had grown tired of the game and wanted to know what his purpose was behind all of this. There had to be more of a reason that he wanted to talk to us than trying to determine if we were the ones that would defeat Voldemort.

"What is it that you want from us, Minister?" I asked.

"I don't know what you mean?" Scrimgeour questioned.

"She means to ask what your purpose is for visiting us," Harry said. "What does it matter to the Ministry who the Chosen Ones are anyway?"

"Because it provides hope to the people," Scrimgeour said. "In times like this, we need something like that."

"Are you suggesting that you cannot do this yourself?" Harry asked.

Scrimgeour's face flushed and he suddenly stopped walking and looked at us both. The questioning of his power probably wasn't something that he was used to.

"You know what I find funny, sir," I said to the Minister. "The fact that you are coming to us to help you out when last year, as I recall, you made us the laughing stock of the community at large. You outcasted us for telling the truth and now you come crawling back to us to aide you when you can't do your job properly."

"Excuse me - " Scrimgeour started.

"No, we have no interest in listening to what you have to say," Harry said. "Why should we help the community to trust the Ministry when we don't trust you ourselves?"

Scrimgeour narrowed his eyes and suddenly began to look very angry. He wasn't expecting us to not cooperate with him. Obviously he wasn't aware of our thoughts on the Ministry.

"Fine, if that's how you want this to go," he said. "I know that you two are up to something with Dumbledore and I assure you that I will find out what it is."

"Good luck," I said with a cruel smirk.

With that, he turned on the spot and went back into the Burrow. I didn't doubt for a moment that he would be absent by the time we made it back to the house. Part of me wondered why he was so determined to find out what Dumbledore was up to, but the other part of me was just glad that he knew that none of us were going to be his puppets for the Ministry. Either way, he wasn't happy with what we had said to him and that was good enough for me. The Minister's anger toward us was no concern of mine in the past and things certainly weren't going to change now just because he asked.

* * *

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	22. Well That Escalated Quickly

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 22**

It never fails that the holidays seem to fly by like they hardly existed in the first place. New Years seemed to pop up out of nowhere and that only meant that we would have to return to the castle sooner than I thought we would.

Since our talk with the Minister, things around the Burrow have seemed to be a little tense. Everyone tried to avoid to topic in attempt to keep us from going off, something that they all expected us to do despite our attempt at having a cheerful mood. Another topic that was avoided entirely was Percy. After the Minister ran off from us, it seemed that he dragged his most loyal employee behind with him without so much as a goodbye. As I suspected, Mrs. Weasley was heartbroken. None of them would admit it, but it bothered them tremendously that Percy only came there on business and didn't really have an interest to be on better terms with them.

The night before we left, something was brought up that I was hoping I had escaped entirely. Unfortunately, this wasn't something that Mrs. Weasley was going to forget easily and I nearly cringed when I heard her say it.

"You gave us quite a scare, Emily," Mrs. Weasley said as she sipped on some tea next the fire.

George and I both looked up from our came of chess that we were playing not too far away from her. I immediately knew what she was talking about, but I asked anyway.

"What do you mean?" I asked her as George looked at his mother in horror.

"When you said that you were pregnant," she said and looked up at me. "You never really explained to me what it was that was going on."

"Oh, right..." I said awkwardly. "It was just a lie that I said to keep this guy away from me."

"What guy is that?" she asked.

"Andrew Kirke," I told her. "He kept harassing me and I didn't know how else to get him away from me."

"Pregnancy isn't something to lie about," she said without breaking eye contact. "It's a very serious matter."

"I realize that," I said.

"I don't think you do," she sat down her cup. "You had me believing that I was going to be a grandmother."

"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Weasley," I said to her. "It wasn't meant to turn out the way that it did. I shouldn't have said it to begin with."

"I believe that you're sorry," she nodded. "It's just...I wanted to let you know something."

George and I just stared at her. I nearly expected George to go hiding in a corner to avoid his mother's penetrating gaze. I"m pretty sure that he would have gotten a frying pan to the head if he left me with her in that moment.

"You know that I was angry, I don't need to go through that again," she said. "But I want you to know that I can help you if you ever needed it."

"Oh...er...thank you," I said awkwardly. "But I don't plan on getting pregnant any time soon."

"I wouldn't think you would," Mrs. Weasley said.

There was a moment of awkward hesitation before she started her next sentence, and I was sure that she really didn't want to talk about it as soon as it escaped her lips.

"You two are being...safe, right?" she asked hesitantly.

"For the love of all that is holy," George said as he put his head down on the table. "Mum, if you have ever loved me, you will stop this conversation."

"I'm just making sure!" she insisted and then eyed us again. "Have you even had - "

"Please don't finish that sentence," George demanded.

"You've been dating a long time, a mother has to wonder," she sighed. "But you're awfully young to start - you should definitely wait until marriage."

There was no doubting at this point that my face was about as red as my hair, and George was practically beating his head on the table that sat between us. Now I was starting to wonder if it was amusing to Mrs. Weasley how uncomfortable she was making us or if she was genuinely oblivious.

"Emily, would you care to join me outside?" George asked as he stood up from his chair.

Mrs. Weasley started to chuckle to herself as he scurried out of the room and I did everything I could to avoid her gaze.

"I guess I'll talk to you later," I said awkwardly as I began to step out of the room.

Quickly and quietly, I stepped out of the house and found George sitting in a chair just next to the garden. He looked like he was nearly twitching from that conversation that he had with his mother and I tried my hardest not to laugh at him.

"Uncomfortable, are we?" I asked him as I took a seat next to him.

"Just a bit," he muttered. "That's not exactly the conversation that I had in mind when she started talking."

"It wasn't like she was asking you to go into detail," I laughed. "She's just wondering if she's going to be an unexpected grandmother in months to come."

"Doesn't make it any less awkward," he said.

As I sat down, a light snow began to come down. I watched it trickle over the snow from the night before in silence next to George, but I had a feeling that there was something that he wanted to talk about. Something about how his eyes continued to flicker over to me every few seconds.

"Have something on your mind?" I asked him without making eye contact.

"Just...it's nothing," he waved it off.

I was going to push the matter, but I figured that he would speak up whenever he was ready to. He looked nervous and sad all at once, but I didn't know why. What could possibly be bothering him like that? It came completely out of nowhere too - he was fine just moments ago...or so it seemed.

"Emily...I, er..." he said slowly with a stutter.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I just...wanted to ask you something," he continued without looking me in the eye.

I nodded and motioned for him to keep talking.

"I don't want you to go away," he said suddenly. "I miss you when you're at Hogwarts."

"I miss you too, George," I said. "But I'm not just going to leave school. It's something that I plan on finishing."

"I'm not saying that I want you to leave school," he said as he nervously picked at his hands.

"Then what are you saying?" I asked with a nervous laugh.

"I'm just afraid that you'll move on without me," he said. "Get bored of our relationship."

"Why would you think that?" I asked.

"You don't see me for months at a time," he said. "Long distance doesn't work for a lot of people. What if the letters just aren't enough?"

Suddenly it hit me like a brick. Was he trying to break up with me? To me, it sounded like he was going the it's-not-you-it's-me route and my throat closed up and I couldn't speak.

"So I want to ask you something, okay?" he asked as he looked to me.

I nodded, but I was fearing what was coming next. Then, much to my shock, George knelt down on the ground and took my by the hand. From the inside of his pocket, he pulled out a small box. Every part of me froze.

"Will you marry me?" he asked me.

My eyes went wide, but nothing came to my mouth. This was not something that I expected to happen and it left me in a total state of shock. Looking down into George's eyes, I wanted to cry. I was afraid.

"George...I..." I stammered. "I can't."

The look on his face broke my heart, but I couldn't believe that he would ask something like this from me. It was too much and too soon.

George stepped up and stuck the box back into his pocket with a look of shame on his face. He looked like he wanted to cry and that made me panic because I knew that I was the cause of this.

"I'm sorry," I finally said, but he still wouldn't look at me.

"Right..." he murmured as he shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "I guess I should go..."

He started to walk back toward the house, but I stood up suddenly and called his name. He didn't listen so I walked quickly after him, but he moved much faster. By the time I caught up to him, we were walking through the door and I grabbed him by the arm.

"George, we need to talk about this," I demanded.

"I don't want to talk right now," George said.

Mrs. Weasley, who was still sitting in the sitting room, stood up suddenly when she saw her son storming through the room. She set down her tea and looked at me as he went directly up the stairs.

"What's going on?" she asked with a worried expression.

"George - GET BACK DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" I shouted up the stairs.

"I said that I _don't want to talk_!" George shouted back.

"I don't care what you want to do!" I yelled. "Now get your ass down here and talk to me!"

Much to my surprise, he stomped down the steps and now looked angry rather than depressed as he looked before. The nerve of him.

"_What_?" he demanded. "What do you _want_ from me?"

"I want to explain," I said. "You have no right to be angry with me - you should have known that it was too soon for this!"

"We've been dating for _years!_" he shouted. "I thought that you loved me!"

"I never said that I didn't love you!" I said angrily. "I'm sixteen years old, are you forgetting that? I can't just up and quit school so I can run off and marry you!"

"WHAT?" Mrs. Weasley asked, suddenly catching on to what was happening.

"That isn't what I was asking!" George said as he stomped down the rest of the stairs and walked right up to me. "I didn't say that we had to get married right off!"

"Then what are you rushing for with asking me?" I demanded. "You couldn't have honestly thought I would say yes!"

"Why would I ask you if I thought you would say no?" he retorted.

"You asked her to _marry _you?" Mrs. Weasley shouted behind me.

"Stay out of this, Mum," George said.

"Excuse me!" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Don't talk to your mother like that," I snapped.

George glared at me for a minute before Mrs. Weasley stepped in between us and looked angrily up at her son. It wasn't until then that I decided that it would never be a good idea to be on Mrs. Weasley's bad side. Although she didn't normally appear all that threatening, the look she was giving now had the potential to frighten the bravest of people.

"I'm sorry, Mother," George said. "But this is between the two of us."

Just then I noticed that we were not the only three people in the room. I took a look around and saw that we had attracted the attention of the entire household, all of which were standing around looking either confused or baffled at the situation at hand. Most of them seemed to be frozen in the spot, probably trying to figure out what was going on, but Fred stepped forward slowly and cautiously between his mother and his twin brother in attempt to stop them from arguing. Instead of asking them what was happening, he turned to me.

"Care to explain what's going on, Emily?" Fred asked as his eyes shifted around at the three of us.

"George is angry because I rejected his marriage proposal," I explained quickly.

Fred blinked in surprise and stared at his brother as if it were the first time he had ever laid eyes on him.

"Marriage proposal?" Fred asked in astonishment. "You proposed to Emily?"

"Obviously," George said.

"Are you completely mad?" he asked. "Why didn't you say something to me first?"

"I did!" George said defensively.

"I thought you were joking!" Fred said. "Why on earth would you do something like that?"

"Because I love her," George said as if it were the most simple thing in the world.

"That doesn't mean that you propose to her," Fred said. "You do realize that she's still in school - she's even got another year left of it."

"I never said that we were going to get married right off," George said. "And I never thought that she would say no..."

"Why would you ask now?" Fred asked. "Marriage is a big deal, you know?"

"I was afraid she was going to leave me, okay?" George snapped, obviously having held that in for a good while.

"Why would you think that I would leave you?" I asked.

"I already told you," George said. "Long distance hardly ever works out."

"So why did you think that it was necessary to propose?" I asked him. "Marriage is just a certificate - it doesn't change anything to me."

George went silent and looked around at everyone in the room. Part of me wondered if he actually realized that they had been standing there the whole time. It occurred to me then that this wasn't a conversation that I wanted to have in front of all our family and friends. Although, judging by the surprised look on Harry's face, I had my doubts that he was going to intervene at all.

"Can we talk about this in private?" I asked.

The others stood in their place as I stepped out the door with George walking closely behind. Although I suspected that this would be a short discussion, I thought that it would be more appropriate that we didn't have an audience.

"Listen George, I'm sorry that I hurt you," I told him. "But that isn't what I meant by the rejection. I'm not saying that I wouldn't want to marry you in the future, but it's far too soon for that. We're moving way too fast for our age."

"Maybe we are, but what if we don't have any time in the future?" George asked. "With everything going on - "

"I know things are getting complicated," I said. "With Voldemort returning - don't you dare flinch, it's just a name - everyone seems to feel like we're pressed for time. A marriage isn't going to change anything between us, you know that right? I'll love you whether I have a ring on my finger or not."

George sighed and nodded, but still didn't look happy even if he seemed to understand my reasoning.

"We don't need to rush things," I said. "Everything is going to be all right."

"That isn't all though, Emily," George said. "Sometimes I wonder if you really want a relationship with me. That fight that we had really got me thinking."

I wanted to make a comment on how this should have discouraged a proposal even more, but I kept my mouth shut on the subject in attempt to keep him from getting angry with me again.

"Thinking about what?" I asked, now concerned.

"You were really quick to think that I was cheating on you," he said. "You didn't seem to doubt it at all."

"Only because you weren't denying it," I pointed out. "What was I supposed to think when you didn't respond to any of my letters?"

"I was on my way to Hogwarts," George said. "It takes a little while to get past the security - even for me."

"How was I supposed to know that?" I asked. "You could have at least given me some sort of warning."

"But when I got to the castle, you wouldn't let me explain," he said. "That isn't like you to just give up like that and it made me wonder how much you wanted to be with me."

"If I wanted to break up with you I would have said something," I said. "You should know that I wouldn't just lead you on."

George went silent for a moment and I could tell that there was something going through his mind that was really bothering him. He seemed hesitant to say something, but he decided to anyway and kept his eyes pointed at the ground.

"Can I ask you something?" he said quietly.

"Anything," I answered.

"Is there something going on between Neville and you?" he asked with a pained look.

At that moment I had to resist beating my head against the wall. This question was what had been bothering him. Seriously?

"No," I answered. "There has never been anything between Neville and me."

"I know that you care for him," he said. "And he fancies you...a lot. Don't think I haven't noticed."

"George, you really shouldn't worry about Neville," I said. "He is my best friend, but that is all he will ever be. I love him, but not in the same way that I love you - he's more like a brother than anything else."

"But he kissed you," George pointed out.

"You really had to bring that up, didn't you?" I said as I buried my head in my hands.

He laughed for a moment and that made me feel much better. Seeing George this serious for so long bothered me more than words could describe. Things still seemed a bit off, but I had a feeling that it would be okay now.

"Can we just...slow things down here," I sighed and looked at my boyfriend. "I feel like things have been really hectic with us lately."

"Just a little bit," he said sarcastically. "But I think you're right...maybe we should take a break."

My heart felt like it fell out of my chest. Never in a million years did I think that this would happen. When I said that I wanted to slow things down, that isn't what I meant in the slightest.

"W-what?" I stammered.

"I'm not saying that we're breaking up," George said quickly. "I just think that we need to take some time and just let things go from there."

_What does that even mean?_ I shouted in my head.

No words came out and George stood up and walked back into the house. There were so many things that I wanted to say, but nothing came to mind. What did he mean that we were taking a break? Was that his subtle way of saying that we were breaking up? Was he still angry with me for what happened? _What is going on?_

I sat in the darkness for a moment before I was able to recoil from what just happened. When I stepped back into the room, most of the family seemed to have dispersed aside from Harry and Fred who were in the sitting room while George was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he stepped up from his chair.

I just looked at him, not knowing how to properly answer his question. Was I okay? I mostly felt numb and confused all at once. Part of me wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there for a while, but another part of me wanted to chase after George and demand to know what he meant.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he brought me over to sit in between Fred and him. "George wouldn't talk to us - Mrs. Weasley took him upstairs to talk to him."

In other words, he was taken away to be lectured by his mother - even I could read through that one.

"Emily, you look sick," Fred said, sounding more worried than he had in a good while. "Even paler than usual - and that's saying something considering you're ginger."

Even at times like this I could appreciate Fred trying to make light of the situation.

"He said that he wanted a break," I said in a tone that was hardly audible.

Fred and Harry looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes. They knew what it meant as well as I did. I may be in denial to an extent, but those words always meant the worst possible thing for a relationship.

"Oh," Harry said awkwardly.

"I think that he just needs some time," Fred assured me. "He's just upset about the proposal - don't worry about it, he'll come around. He's just a little stressed out."

I just nodded, but I could hear the doubt in Fred's voice. From upstairs I could hear Mrs. Weasley shouting at her son for being "reckless" and "inconsiderate," but I tried to act like I didn't notice. Fred and Harry seemed to be having difficulty sitting next to me as they tried to find more consoling words they could give to me. Fred put his arm around me and I held him in a hug as Harry held on to my hand. I felt comforted enough, but they insisted on talking more.

As they spoke, I just nodded, but I didn't really listen that well to what they had to say. The words that George said continued to echo through my head for the remainder of the night and until I fell asleep. Ginny tried to talk to me, but Fred brought her aside and told her what happened. They tried to lower their voices so I wouldn't hear, but they aren't the most talented whisperers in the world.

"Just don't bother her about it, okay?" he said. "Let her sleep and I'll talk to George."

"He's not going to cooperate with you," Ginny said as she folded her arms in front of herself. "You saw how he was down in the sitting room."

"Let me handle it, okay?" Fred insisted. "He's just a little off his rocker right now. Just make sure that she is okay - if she wants to talk, just come and get me so I can help, okay?"

"What makes you think that she won't want to talk to me?" Ginny asked defensively.

"Don't get all offended," Fred rolled his eyes. "Just get me, okay?"

"Fine," Ginny huffed.

Fred was right. It wasn't that I had anything against Ginny, but I was more comfortable talking to Fred about this sort of thing than her. Honestly, I would find Harry more helpful than anyone on a normal day, but talking about my relationship with George was never something that we could talk about. It was just awkward in a way. I trusted Fred to comfort me and give me honest answers when I asked that of him.

At some point in the night, I finally fell into a sleep. I woke up only one time and considered walking around for a bit, but I didn't want to worry anyone. Even though I knew that others were willing to help, this was just going to have to be something that I would face on my own.

We all gathered around the fireplace for our farewell the following day. Mrs. Weasley did her best to look pleased, but there was no hiding the sadness that she had that we were leaving her once again. She was the only one to see us off because everyone else was off to work. Fred and George would have seen us off normally, but seeing as the situation had become incredibly uncomfortable, they had gone in for "an early morning shift."

"Have a great time at Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Don't forget to write - all of you, I mean it!"

She gave us all a hug goodbye before we stood in front of the fireplace that was temporarily open for transport to Hogwarts. As I stepped in front of the fireplace awaiting my turn, Mrs. Weasley put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a consoling smile. I gave one back and was happy to know that this wasn't going to make things any different between the two of us.

As I tossed the Floo-Powder into the fire and said my destination, I gave a final wave to Mrs. Weasley and the Burrow before I went spiraling back to school for another stressful semester.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think! Are things really over for George and Emily? What do you think he meant by 'taking a break?' And what about the marriage proposal - do you think Emily was right in rejecting it? Do you think that George overreacted to her response to his proposal? Am I asking way too many questions? Probably.**

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	23. Unavoidable Discussions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 23**

When I opened up my eyes after the brief spiral through the Floo Network, I found myself standing next to Professor McGonagall in her office. It took me a minute to coordinate myself as I stepped away from the area to make room for the next person to come through. Harry arrived only a few moments after I did and he had the same dazed look that I had.

"Never cared for those things," Harry commented as he stepped over toward me. "Did Ron take off?"

"I didn't see him when I came through," I shrugged.

"Miss Brown met him here when he arrived," Professor McGonagall spoke up with slight annoyance. "She seemed determined to take him from the area."

Judging by her tone, I could tell that she had taken him off to snog somewhere and she did not approve of this behavior at all. Then again, I couldn't imagine that she'd run off with him because she wanted to talk to him because I hardly thought the two were capable of carrying on a conversation.

Since all the others had already arrived, Harry and I decided that we would go up to the Gryffindor Tower to meet up with Hermione. We weren't completely sure if she would be there, but we figured that was where most people were meeting up anyway. Thankfully, when we got there Ron and Lavender were nowhere in sight.

"Hey!" Hermione waved as she stepped over toward us.

"How was your Christmas?" I asked Hermione with a forced smile, trying to act like I wasn't emotionally crippled on the inside.

"It was good," Hermione smiled. "Nothing that special happened this year...what about you?"

The way she looked at me made me raise my eyebrow. She was being awfully sympathetic for someone who knew nothing of what happened through the holiday. When my eyes flickered over to Harry, I noticed that he was avoiding looking at me at all costs.

"He told you, didn't he?" I asked Hermione as I stared at my brother.

"I'm really sorry," Hermione said in an attempt to be consoling.

Trying to ignore her, I went to take a seat in front of the fire as some more people came into the room. Thankfully, this kept Hermione off of the topic as she didn't want to create a scene in front of the entire Gryffindor House.

"Take a look at this," Dean, who had just walked into the room with Seamus, said as he passed by the message board. "Apparition lessons are coming up."

"Really?" Seamus asked. "Does it say how much it costs?"

"Let me look," Harry said as he walked closer to the message on the board. "Yeah, it says that you have to pay 12 Galleons and you have to sign up here."

"Excellent," Dean smiled. "Are you all going to sign up?"

"Definitely," Seamus said. "Does anyone have anything to write with?"

It didn't take too much time for basically the entire room to gather around the sign-up sheet anxiously awaiting to write their name on the board so they could learn the art of Apparition. However, I was not one of the many that were in that line because, personally, apparition was not something that I was very interested in.

"You're not signing up?" Ginny asked as she sat down and watched as the eligible people stepped up.

"I don't really want to learn how to do it," I said honestly. "Apparating isn't very comfortable...I would rather travel by other means. What about you?"

"I'm not old enough," Ginny sighed. "But I'll definitely be up there next year."

Once the room began to clear, I decided that it would be best for me to make my escape before Hermione could harass me too much over what happened during the holiday. I loved Hermione, but she was far too persistent with finding out information that I didn't want to share with her.

Once I was out of the common room and walking through the corridors, I allowed my mind to wander to everything apart from my recent break with George. Just when I felt my mind free from everything and I could feel some sort of peace, someone had to interrupt my thoughts.

"Emily!" someone called behind me.

I stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned around to see Ron walking toward me. Something about the way his face was sitting told me that he wasn't just signaling me to talk to me about something random.

"Hey, Ron," I said as he caught up to me. "What are you up to?"

"Can we talk about something?" he asked as we stepped off to the side of the hallway so we were out of the way of anyone that would walk by.

"Er...sure," I said skeptically. "What about?"

"You need to stop treating Lavender the way you do," he demanded. "She's my girlfriend, so you need to show some respect. You've been out of line - "

"Wait a minute, what?" I asked in disbelief. "You think that _I'm_ the only one that's out of line? Take a good look at your girlfriend Ronald Weasley, she isn't exactly a saint herself."

"Oh come on, you know that you've been far worse," Ron scoffed. "The things that you did to her before the holiday were uncalled for."

"If you say so," I snickered. "Why are you bringing this up now anyway? Why didn't you talk to me about it over break if it bothered you so much?"

"I didn't want to get anyone else involved," he defended himself.

"That's complete bullshit and you know it," I retorted. "Lavender told you to do this didn't she?"

"So what if she did?" he asked.

"Okay, listen," I said. "I get that I haven't been the most pleasant person in the world around your _marvelous_ girlfriend, but I'm not the only one at fault here. Maybe if she learns to keep her mouth shut around me then we wouldn't have such a problem."

A few people glanced at us as they walked by us in the hallway. We stayed silent until they turned the corner when Ron decided to speak up.

"We can't be friends if you don't respect my relationship with Lavender," he said firmly.

"You've got to be kidding me," I snorted.

I gave him a moment and was in complete disbelief that he was being serious. He couldn't honestly believe that his relationship with Lavender was going to last long enough to matter. All the two of them did was snog and there was no way that could keep a relationship going for any amount of time.

"Well, then I guess that we're finished here," I said.

"Fine," he said.

With that, he turned around and walked in the direction that he came from. I stood in spot for a moment trying to take in what just happened. Never before would I have thought that Ron would just up and drop a friend over some girl that hardly meant anything. Then again, I wasn't the only friend that he was losing over Lavender, so I couldn't be but so offended.

Once I had made up my mind that Ron was insane, I decided to continue walking wherever it was that I was going. Honestly, at this point, I was just wandering around aimlessly so I could avoid conversation with anyone that wanted to force me to talk about George. Although I wanted to avoid Hermione, part of me wanted to go back to the common room to tell her what just happened with Ron.

It was a good ten minutes before I saw another person in the hallway. I suspected that most people were gathered in the common rooms to talk about their holiday, so that was probably the only reason that I was successfully able to avoid anyone. Of course though, there was one person that I never failed to not meet up with that I saw in the hallway.

Snape stood in the corridor, just staring out of a window while the snow came down outside. He didn't seem to notice my appearance, so I walked quietly down the corridor and watched him. Considering his usual blank expression, I was startled by the look of worry on his face as he thought deeply about something I suspected I would never know about. The mind of Severus Snape was something that I was never going to unfold no matter how much talking we did.

"Did you have a good holiday?" I asked him, startling him in the process.

"Hello, Miss Potter," he said as his expression went blank again. "My holiday was fair, what about yours? I hear that the Minister paid you a visit."

"Unfortunately," I muttered as I stood next to him and looked out of the window at the snow. "He was trying to recruit us to be his poster children for the Ministry's cause."

"And how did you respond to that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We basically told him to suck it," I laughed.

"I figured as much," he smirked. "He shouldn't have expected you two to help him."

"He was awfully friendly to us last year," I said sarcastically. "I mean, we do owe him a favor, right?"

Snape shook his head and looked at me curiously for a moment. Sometimes I wish that I could be like him and make it so I wasn't so easy to read, but it wasn't that simple for me.

"Something bothering you?" he asked.

"Possibly," I said vaguely.

He just stared at me with a raised eyebrow as he waited for me to speak. Knowing him, he would wait all day for me to just spit it out. I figured that I might as well tell him now before he forced it out of me later.

"It's just problems with George," I murmured as I picked at my hands.

"Oh," he said. "I see...what happened?"

It was as if he was a father talking to his daughter about relationship problems. It looked like he wanted to help, but there was a certain awkwardness to it that nearly made it funny to look at him.

"Well, he said that he wants to take a break," I explained. "Which I interpreted as we're broken up."

"Why did he want to do this?" he asked.

"He sort of proposed to me," I said without meeting his eyes. "And I told him no."

Snape had a look of complete surprise on his face. He obviously wasn't expecting the reasoning for our break to be anything like this.

"You said no?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course," I said. "Do you think that was wrong of me?"

"No, I'm just shocked that you made the right decision," he said.

"Thanks for the faith in me," I said sarcastically.

"It's not that I think you aren't intelligent, Emily," he rolled his eyes. "Most people in your position would probably have said yes. However, you are very right in declining him given that you are only sixteen years old. Considering the circumstances that you've been in recently, I couldn't imagine that you would want to rush anything as such anyway."

I was speechless. He completely spoke out what I was thinking without me even having to explain myself. Maybe Snape knew me a little more than I thought he did. It hit me then that I was talking to Snape about something that I was initially trying to avoid and it made me almost feel guilty about abandoning Hermione for this reason.

"Perhaps a break will be good for you," Snape suggested, still having the look that he didn't care to talk about my relationships with boys. "You two dated for a long time and maybe you need some time apart from one another."

"Doesn't make it feel any better," I murmured.

"Just give it some time," Snape said. "It isn't the end of the world, Emily. You don't need to have a significant other to make your life worthwhile."

"I know," I sighed.

The snow outside began to slow and I noticed a couple of people starting to walk down the hallway that we were in. Naturally, this made Snape return to teacher mode and he had a look of business on again.

"Oh, I do believe that Dumbledore wishes to talk with your brother and you tonight," Snape said once the four Hufflepuffs walked away. "I told him that I would find you."

"You can tell him that we'll be there," I said. "I assume that it's at the usual time that we meet."

"He told me that you all would know what time, so I guess you would be right in assuming that," Snape nodded. "Now, if you don't mind, I believe I have some business that needs attending to."

I nodded and he made a small bow signaling his farewell. I was going to ask what he was going to do, but something told me that he wouldn't have told me even if I asked him about it.

* * *

When Harry and I got into Dumbledore's office that night, the headmaster was already sitting behind his desk waiting patiently for us with the Pensieve sitting in front of him. He stood when he noticed our arrival and gestured for us to take a seat in front of the chairs provided in front of his desk.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore," Harry greeted our headmaster as we sat down in our chairs. "Did you have a good holiday?"

"I had an interesting holiday," Dumbledore said vaguely. "But I do not believe that what happened then is important now. I assume that you two are well?"

"Just fine," Harry answered.

"I've been better," I shrugged. "But I've also been worse."

"Fair enough," Dumbledore nodded.

Dumbledore stood up and walked over to the collection of vials that he had stacked behind him that contained the memories. From the rack, he pulled off two and set them down next to the devise that we would use to view them.

"What are we looking at today?" Harry asked.

"I've decided that these two were necessary for you to view today," he spoke to us both. "The first contains a memory that we will view comes from a time when Tom Riddle was known to be very obsessed with finding out who his father, whom he never knew, really was. In this memory that we look at today, we discover that he was successful in finding the Gaunt family that we have seen before."

"I didn't care for them," I noted absentmindedly.

"I couldn't imagine that you would," Dumbledore said with a hint of amusement. "Not many were fond of them."

With that, Dumbledore poured in the first vial and twirled in around in the Pensieve. He ushered us forward and, one by one, we went falling down into the memory of Voldemort's past.

Once the spinning in my head stopped, I found myself standing next to Dumbledore and Harry in the all too familiar house of the Gaunts. Standing before us was Morfin that we had seen before with a young Tom Riddle standing in front of him.

"You are Marvolo?" Riddle asked curiously as he looked around at the old, broken house in disgust.

"Of course not," Morfin spat. "He died years ago - what do you want?"

"_Who are you_?" Tom asked.

Dumbledore looked over at us curiously and then back at the other two members of the room. It occurred to me then that Tom must have said something in Parseltongue that Dumbledore didn't understand.

"_I am Morfin, Marvolo's son_," Morfin answered back. "How do you speak it?"

"You sound surprised," Tom said as he eyed Morfin.

"I thought you were that Muggle," Morfin said. "You look like him..."

"I am no Muggle," Tom spat.

"You look a lot like him," Morfin said. "The one that my sister loved so much. I just saw him the other day - "

"You saw him?" Tom asked, suddenly sounding more interested in what the man was saying. "Where is he?"

"Around here somewhere," Morfin said. "That filthy Muggle came here not long after he left my slut of a sister - robbed the place and stole one of my most valuable possessions."

"And that was?" Tom asked of the stolen object.

"Slyherin's locket," Morfin said. "He probably still has the thing, you know? If it wasn't for my sister going off with him then I might still have it."

Suddenly the area around us became dark and I couldn't see anything. When I looked back up and around, I found myself in Dumbledore's office again with a very confused Harry and a calm looking Dumbledore. Obviously Dumbledore had expected the memory to end there.

"Was that it?" I asked Dumbledore as I looked down into the Pensieve.

"That was all that was remembered," Dumbledore nodded.

"So what does that tell us?" Harry asked.

"What do you think?" Dumbledore asked.

I thought to the memory and recalled the one thing that seemed important to Tom Riddle at the time: the locket. He obviously had interest in the object and seemed angry enough when he discovered that it was not in Morfin's possession.

"He must have gone after that locket," I told Dumbledore. "Morfin said that Tom Riddle Senior had it, so maybe he went off to find his father."

"That is not all," Dumbledore said. "The memory that we just saw ended so abruptly because Morfin was not conscience for the moments afterwards."

"Voldemort attacked him?" Harry asked.

"It appears so," Dumbledore said. "Not only that, but Morfin informed me that there was an item missing from his person once he came back to himself."

"Marvolo's ring," Harry said.

I looked over at my brother in surprise. How could he have possibly thought of this? Although I knew it was true judging by our headmaster's nod after the words were sad, I couldn't understand why he would want this.

"And not long afterwards, there was the death of a family not far from the Gaunt's house," Dumbledore said. "It is believed that Tom Riddle stole Morfin's wand and ended the life of his father and his parents."

"He didn't get caught?" I asked.

"No, he was able to get out quickly enough to have Morfin blamed for the entire ordeal," Dumbledore said. "The man himself believed that he had done it before it was over with."

Having all this out in the open made me wonder why it was so important to Voldemort to have those items in his possession. It was no shock that he was a mad man, but there must have been some other reason for him to want those items immediately.

"The next memory that we are going to view should take no time at all," Dumbledore continued. "It comes from someone that the two of you have come to know this past year."

As he poured the next vial into the Pensieve, I was surprised to see the face of a younger Horace Slughorn come to view. I looked up at Dumbledore questioningly, but kept my mouth shut as we went to view the memory.

Instead of the horrid home of the Gaunts, we now stood inside of the comfortable office of Professor Slughorn. The visibly younger Potions Master sat behind his desk with an all too familiar grin on his face as he looked into the eyes of Tom Riddle in front of him.

"Have a question for me, boy?" Slughorn asked happily.

"I do actually, but it isn't about Potions," Tom said casually.

"I couldn't imagine that it would be," Slughorn proudly said. "You do such an excellent job already."

"Thank you, sir," Tom politely said. "But my question involves something that I heard about recently. Do you know anything about Horcruxes?"

A sudden smoke began to seep into the room through the ground and Slughorn, in a very unnatural tone, shouted at the student in front of him.

"Of course I do not!" Slughorn insisted. "Now get out of this room!"

Harry and I looked at one another in confusion. Something about this scene didn't seem right, but I couldn't quite point it out. Slughorn did seem the type to be strange at times, but that outburst seemed completely random.

I looked down for a moment, but when I looked back up I saw that we were in Dumbledore's office once more with our headmaster looking from one of us to the other, obviously expecting us to comment on the matter.

"That's it?" Harry asked, expecting more out of the memory than we got.

"It is," Dumbledore nodded.

"Something's wrong," I said.

"Precisely," Dumbledore said. "I'm happy that you've noticed. The two of you seem confused and you have every right to be. The reason that I showed you that memory is because I want to ask you two a favor."

"What's that?" Harry and I said at once.

"I want you to talk to your professor," Dumbledore said to us. "The memory that you just saw was tampered with and I have the need to have access to the memory as it happened."

"So you want us to just walk up to him and ask for it?" I asked.

"It will take persuasion," Dumbledore added.

"But why did he tamper with it?" Harry asked.

"I cannot be sure, but I have assumed his reasoning had to do with his embarrassment of what happened," Dumbledore said. "He does not wish to reveal that he gave Voldemort any sort of information."

"So you want us to persuade him to give us the real memory?" I repeated to Dumbledore.

"This memory could hold all the information that we need to stop Voldemort," Dumbledore said. "It is crucial that you get this information."

Dumbledore only held us a few minutes longer before releasing us back into the school in complete confusion and wonder. I couldn't imagine how this information was so important, but I had no doubts in my mind that Dumbledore knew what he was doing.

"Have you ever heard of a Horcrux before?" Harry asked me once he checked that the corridors were vacant.

"No, have you?" I asked.

"Of course not," Harry sighed. "Do you have any ideas on how to get Slughorn to give us that memory?"

"It's not going to be easy," I confessed. "We're going to practically have to force him to give it up."

"Why do you think Dumbledore is making us do it?" Harry asked. "I'm sure that he could have found a way himself."

"Maybe it's because he knows that Slughorn is fond of us," I said. "He's already suspicious of Dumbledore and it'll be much easier for us to convince him since we are already on his good side."

I wasn't sure if that was completely true, but it was all that I had to go on. I just hoped that Dumbledore knew what he was getting us into.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I'm going to be on vacation for a week, but I should have the next chapter up when I get back.**

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	24. Concentrating on a Mission

**Disclaimer: Still not JK Rowling, so I still don't own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 24**

The following day Harry and I managed to fill Hermione in on what we were doing. We could have told Ron as well, but that might actually require me to converse with him and that wasn't going to be happening any time soon considering the circumstances. Nevertheless, we figured that Hermione ought to know and that she might have some helpful pointers on how to get the information out of Slughorn.

"That's an awful lot that Dumbledore's asking of you," Hermione weighed in. "It shouldn't be much of a problem talking to him considering you two are his favorites, but I couldn't imagine that he's just going to give up that memory without a fight."

"Exactly what I was thinking," I sighed as I sat back in the couch in front of the fire. "He wouldn't even hand it over to Dumbledore, so it'll be nearly impossible for us to get it from him..."

"It'll just take a lot of effort," Hermione said.

"Not to mention a lot of brown-nosing," Harry muttered.

When lunch came around that day, I finally got around to talking to Harry and Hermione about what Ron said to me the previous day. The subject was only brought up because Ron and Lavender sat on the opposite side of the table and wouldn't so much as look in our general direction for the entire meal.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry wondered as he chewed absentmindedly on his sandwich. "Normally he at least comes over and says something."

"Maybe she's forbidden him to have a relationship with us," Hermione rolled her eyes. "It can't be long before that happens."

"Too late for that," I mumbled as I poked my peas with a fork.

Harry and Hermione looked at me and then to each other as if they were having their own silent conversation. It didn't actually occur to me that I never told them what Ron said to me the night before until that moment.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked as his eyes flickered over to where Ron and Lavender were sitting.

"Ron told me that he can't be friends with me anymore," I rolled my eyes. "He said that I have no respect for his relationship with Lavender, so we can't talk anymore."

Hermione dropped her fork on her plate and scowled over in Ron's general direction. This would only be one more excuse for her to hate Ron's existence.

"You have to be joking," Harry said in disbelief.

"I wish I was," I said. "He just came up to me yesterday and told me that I'm out of line with his girlfriend."

"He's such a prick," Hermione complained. "Doesn't he see how many friends he's losing over some stupid girl that doesn't even care about anything other than snogging his brains out?"

"Are you talking about Ron?" Neville asked as he sat down next to us with Seamus falling in next to him.

"Yes," Harry, Hermione, and I said at once.

"I'm just going to assume that Lavender is part of the conversation as well?" Neville added.

"Naturally," I told him.

"I ran into them yesterday on my way back to the Tower," Seamus said with a disgusted look on his face. "They were practically eating each other's faces off."

All of us cringed and looked over to the odd couple again. Lavender was laughing happily, but there was something about Ron's laughter that seemed forced. Maybe he was starting to realize that Lavender was insane...that or I was just hoping for that to happen.

Later that day, towards the end of Potions, Harry and I started talking about how we could approach Slughorn about the memory again. We figured that it would be best to wait until after class, but there was still the question on what we could say to him.

"He isn't going to want to hand it over," I told Harry. "He'll probably even get mad that we asked him about it."

"Maybe we could bring up the topic casually," Harry suggested.

"How do you _casually_ bring up his memory of Voldemort's youth?" I asked.

"What are you two going on about?" Ron, who was sitting next to Harry in front of me, asked.

"Oh, I would love to talk about it," I said with my eyes narrowing. "But since I don't approve of your loving relationship with Lavender, I don't believe that I can talk about it to you."

"Emily - " Ron started.

"Would you turn around?" I snapped. "You aren't in this conversation."

Ron went red faced and went back to his work without another word. Sure, it may have been a bit uncalled for of me, but I didn't particularly care at the moment. If he thought that I would just allow for his input in a conversation after severing our relationship then he was out of his mind.

"Maybe only one of you should confront him at a time," Hermione suggested after a moment of silence between us all. "He may feel like you're cornering him if you both talk to him."

Harry and I looked at each other and then back to Hermione. This was a thought that I hadn't considered until then. If he denied the information to one of us, the other could always come back and ask again at a more opportune moment.

"I think you should ask him, Harry," I said to my brother. "He seems to be more fond of you the majority of the time."

"I don't know about all of that," Harry said hesitantly. "He likes you just as much - "

"Would you rather me ask him first?" I cut him off.

He stopped and considered for a moment. During that time, he must have assumed that I was right despite his determination to prove that he was not Slughorn's favorite student at the moment.

"Fine, I'll do it," Harry sighed. "But you have to ask him again if he tells me no."

"Agreed," I nodded.

When the bell rang for class to end, Hermione and I quickly stepped out of the room and into the corridor so we could wait to see what would happen with Harry. We were the first ones out and had to watch as Ron walked briskly passed us avoiding eye contact at all costs. Hermione rolled her eyes, but stopped when Draco Malfoy walked up to us.

"What is your brother up to?" he asked me.

"Hello to you too," I muttered. "I guess he just wanted to ask Slughorn a question. Why do you ask?"

"He looks like he's up to something," Draco said.

"So do you," I pointed out. "But you don't see me asking everyone what you're up to."

"Where's Weasley?" Draco asked as he noticed that one of us was missing.

"Probably snogging Lavender," I rolled my eyes. "Why are you so concerned about where my friends are?"

"I'm not concerned," Draco spat. "I'm just trying to have a conversation."

"A lousy one at that," I mumbled.

Draco's eyes flickered over to Hermione for a moment, as if he was just noticing her presence. He completely ignored her as he eyed me once again and continued to talk.

"Did you sign up for Apparition lessons?" he asked.

"I didn't," I answered. "Why, did you?"

"Just about every else is," he commented. "It's an effective way of travel. Why didn't you sign up?"

"It's not something I really care for," I said. "The feeling of it just creeps me out."

"You really should take the lessons," he said as his eyes searched around the area as if he were looking for something or someone. "You never know when you might need a quick escape."

"Er...thanks for the advice," I said awkwardly.

"Right, well I have to be going," Draco said. "I hope to see you later at the lessons."

Hermione and I watched as Draco walked away from us. As soon as he went around the corner, Hermione raised her eyebrow and looked like she had about a million things to say to me.

"That was strange, right?" I asked her.

"Very," she nodded. "Even if he had a point about Apparition being a quick way of escape, it was odd the way he put it."

"Almost like he was pushing me into doing it," I noted.

"I do think that he's right though," Hermione said. "You should try it out because it could become useful for you even if you don't like it."

"Will they even let me sign up now?" I asked. "The lessons are only in a couple of weeks."

"The list is still posted in the common room," Hermione said. "But if you're going to sign up, then you're going to have to hurry up because I'm pretty sure that Professor McGonagall is coming to collect it later today."

Our conversation ended when I heard the slam of a door down the corridor. There was no question that it came from the Potions classroom and I had a bad feeling that this was only going to be bad news for Harry and me concerning our mission with Dumbledore. Harry came walking down the corridor and stopped when he noticed us waiting for him around the corner.

"Nothing?" I asked Harry, already knowing what the answer was going to be.

"It only made him angry that I asked," Harry sighed in defeat. "He told me to never ask him anything about it again because he knew that Dumbledore told me to ask him."

"He isn't an idiot," Hermione said. "He was bound to figure out that Dumbledore was behind this anyway."

"How did you bring it up?" I asked him.

"I just started it off the same way that Voldemort did," Harry said. "I said that I had a question about some Dark Magic that I heard about."

"Harry, you can't do that!" Hermione said. "Of course he knew that you were up to something!"

"It wasn't like it was going to be a secret anyway," Harry said. "Asking him for a memory would have ended that way regardless of how I approached him about it."

"I guess that means that we're just going to have to talk to him about it another time," I sighed. "We'll have to give him some time if we don't want him getting angry again."

* * *

When the snow began to clear, all the sixth year Hogwarts students prepared for the Apparition lessons that were coming around the corner. Since I was finally pressured into signing up for them, I became anxious about what was going to happen. Knowing that it wasn't something that I really wanted to do, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be something that I was going to be very good at.

"Gran's making me do it," Neville told me while we waited for the call to attend our first lesson. "She said that everyone should know how to Apparate with You-Know-Who being back."

"Oh, Gran," I said with a smile on my face. "She's a paranoid woman, isn't she?"

"You don't know the half of it," Neville smirked.

"My mum said that it'll be really hard to learn," Seamus said. "And she says that it's really unpleasant the first few times it's done."

"You've Apparated before, haven't you Emily?" Dean asked me.

"Unfortunately," I cringed. "It feels like you're being crushed through a small box or something."

"That's a comforting thought," Neville mumbled.

"How'd you pull off Apparating if you're underage?" Seamus asked.

"It was Side-Along Apparition," I told him. "Dumbledore pulled Harry and me along with him."

Professor McGonagall walked into the room a few minutes later to call the names of the people that signed up. We all gathered around and walked down to the Great Hall, talking about what to expect the entire way down. Several people were asking Harry and me what it felt like and we did our best to repeat what we had already told some of the others.

When we finally arrived at the Great Hall, which seemed so much bigger without the tables set out, we found that many of the other students from the other Houses were already waiting for the lesson. In the front of the room, I noticed that there were instructors who all looked like they would rather be anywhere else but in a room filled with students.

"How are we going to do the lesson here anyway?" I asked Hermione as she walked up next to me. "I thought that no one could Apparate in Hogwarts."

"They can't normally," Hermione said. "But there have been special measures taken out to make this lesson possible. We will only temporarily able to Apparate in the building."

I nodded in understanding as the Slytherin House marched into the Great Hall behind Snape. As they all lined up, I noticed Draco walking past the others and making a line right toward me.

"So you decided to try Apparition out after all?" he asked as he approached me.

"I needed some convincing, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have some lessons," I shrugged.

"Good decision," he said. "You probably would have been the only one that didn't show up. It looks like everyone in our class came here."

"Seems so," I nodded as I looked around at everyone.

"Hey Malfoy!" Crabbe called from the crowd of Slytherins. "What are you doing over there?"

When Draco threw a look in Crabbe's direction, he quickly looked away from him and seemed to be embarrassed that he had said anything at all. It was strange the power that Draco had over his friends, almost controlling in a way.

"It appears that your friends want your company," I said while looking over at Crabbe and Goyle.

"Obviously," Draco muttered. "It's hard to believe that they made it down to the room without my assistance. I guess I will talk to you later - make sure to pay attention to what the instructor says. Apparition isn't an easy task and it will require your full attention."

I was about to question him on his determination to learn Apparition, but he had already turned around to go back to where the rest of the Slytherin House was standing. Hermione, as she had during my previous encounter with the Slytherin boy, gave me the strangest look. This time, however, she was not the only one.

"What did he want with you?" Harry asked as he walked over to Hermione and me.

"Nothing important," I said while watching the blonde across the room. "He's just acting strange again."

"It wasn't anything about Voldemort, was it?" Harry asked briskly.

"Oh, definitely," I said sarcastically. "He was just telling me Voldemort's latest scheme for our murder - do you even listen to yourself, Harry?"

"I was just thinking that he might be up to something!" Harry said defensively.

"And what gave you the idea that he would consult me about it?" I demanded.

"Why are you being so defensive about it?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't have to be defensive if you screwed your head on straight for a change," I said. "All he was doing was wishing me good luck on this lesson, is that such a problem for you?"

"Why would he do that?" Harry questioned.

"How should I know?" I asked. "I don't know how his brain works!"

Just then I noticed that Dean, Seamus, and Neville had entered the conversation, all of which seemed completely confused by the situation. Then again, I can't say that I wasn't confused myself. In a sense, I could see why Harry would be worried about what was going on, but his assumptions were insane. Draco may be acting stranger than usual, but that was no excuse for Harry to intervene and assume the worst.

Once it became clear that all the students were present in the Great Hall for the lessons, the Heads of the Houses took the time to make sure that we were all lined up and given enough room to practice what we were told. Of course, it proved to take a few minutes and people ended up scattered all around the room with a hoop in front of them and faces forward. I ended up standing next to Hermione and Neville with Dean standing in front of me and Seamus behind me. It wasn't until the instructor, whose name was Twycross, began to speak that I realized Harry wasn't even in the area.

"Hermione, where did my brother go?" I whispered as I scanned the room.

"I think he's over there near Malfoy," she whispered back.

When I finally found Draco, my heart sank to see that Harry was not too far away from him. This was obviously an attempt to eavesdrop on the Slytherin to see what he was up to. My annoyance that he didn't trust my judgement only increased when I noticed the strict attention that my brother was putting on Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Don't pay attention to him," Hermione sighed.

Then I noticed who was standing in the row behind me next to Seamus: Ron and Lavender. Although I was still irritated with Ron, something about the sorrowful look on his face as he looked ahead made me feel bad for him. Lavender, who was standing next to him, seemed to be gazing longingly at her boyfriend, something that he didn't seem to enjoy.

Part of me wished that I could be happy that Ron had finally found a girlfriend, but it just wasn't something that I could do because I knew that Lavender wasn't right for him. When I looked at the redheaded boy, I realized how much I missed talking to him. We didn't always get along with one another and fought on a fairly frequent basis, but that didn't mean that I didn't care about him. That was just who we were.

Ron and I had always had a sort of love-hate relationship. We could bicker like children, but we never really meant any harm by it. Now that we had a proper argument, I felt a hole in my stomach as I watched my unhappy friend stand apart from us. It might have to take a bit of force on my part, but I couldn't just let our relationship end like that.

"Miss Potter, face forward," Professor McGonagall ordered quietly as she walked by.

I smiled sheepishly as I turned my attention back to the instructor in front of me. From what I could tell, she had only just finished going over the importance of Apparition and the dangers that it could bring if not done properly. Thankfully I hadn't missed the actual instruction of it. That might have turned out to be awkward.

"There are three things that you must remember when attempting to Apparate," Twycross instructed. "Destination, Determination, and Deliberation!"

As Professor Snape walked by us, I noticed his eyes roll when he heard Hermione repeat those three words repeatedly beside me. I had the urge to laugh, knowing how much her studious habit annoyed him, but I resisted so she wouldn't hear me.

"Be nice," I whispered.

"Pay attention," Snape retorted.

I smirked as he walked past me, probably not expecting me to notice his annoyance with my friend. As he went out of my sight, the instructor continued her lesson.

"The first step to Apparition is to fix your mind on the destination of your choice," Twycross said. "In this case, it shall be the inside of the hoop in front of you. Next, you must focus on your determination to get to your destination. Finally, you need to feel your way into nothingness. Is this understood?"

Hermione nodded enthusiastically next to me while Neville looked like he was going to throw up into the hoop rather than Apparate there. Others around the room seemed to fall in the middle of the two extremes as the instructor continued.

"Now we must try this together," Twycross said. "Remember your steps, okay? Now - concentrate on your destination."

I started at the empty space in the middle of the hoop in front of me, feeling idiotic in doing so.

"Make yourself determined to be in that spot," Twycross continued.

_Go to the hoop. Go to the hoop. I don't know why I would want to be in the middle of the hoop, but apparently it's a fairly nice place. HOOP!_

"Now on the count of three, I want you to all vanish," she ordered. "One...two...three!"

I tried my best to focus on vanishing, but all I managed to do was find myself falling backwards from slipping on my feet. I braced for impact, but found myself caught by Seamus behind me.

"I got you," Seamus smiled.

"Right, thanks," I said bashfully as I stood myself upright.

As I looked around, I noticed that I wasn't the only one that had that problem. In fact, I saw that the majority of people were either stumbling or were already on the ground. This made me feel slightly less ridiculous, but nonetheless it wasn't helping me learn anything.

"Nothing I didn't expect," Twycross sighed. "It is very rare for anyone to succeed in their first attempt in Apparition. Let's try again!"

We went through the process several more times before I began to feel agitated. Apparating wasn't even something that I wanted to do, yet here I was in a room full of stumbling people without a clue on how to do any of this.

I tried focusing harder on the spot in front of me, but it wasn't helping. There was no difference any time I tried to do it and I just couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. I listened as Hermione repeated the steps again to herself, but it made no difference at all.

"Concentrate, Miss Potter," Snape said as he circled around to me again.

"I _am_ concentrating," I retorted. "This isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, you know?"

"Your irritation is taking over your mind," he said as he walked past. "Just settle your nerves and try again."

When he walked away, I noticed the look of concentration on Neville's face next to me and the look of disappointment after a minute of it.

"This is pointless," he muttered. "I can hardly wave my wand, why did I think I could do something like this?"

"Oh, come on," I said. "You're a great wizard - just try again."

My words of encouragement could only go so far since I was having the same problem as him. In fact, it seemed that no one in the room was really getting the grasp on what was happening. By the end of the lesson, not a single person Apparated and only a few people said that they felt some sort of tingling in them at some point. Apparently this was a good sign, but it only made it worse that I didn't have a similar effect.

As I walked back to the common room with Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Dean, I began wondering where Harry went off to. I tried not to get too angry that he had run off to eavesdrop on Draco, but it still made me twitchy that he hadn't caught up to us yet. It wasn't until we actually got back into the Tower that I found him sitting in front of the fireplace waiting for us.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked him when she sat down next to Harry and me.

"I just needed to find out what Malfoy was up to," Harry said.

"Is there a reason that you can't just trust me about Draco?" I asked.

"Emily, you trust everyone," Harry said. "You always think the best of people even when they don't deserve it."

"It's better than assuming the worst in people," I said. "You're just convinced that every person you don't like is out to kill you."

"Do you want to know what I heard from Malfoy or not?" he asked irritably.

"Wait, you mean that you actually heard something bad?" Hermione asked in astonishment. "What did he say?"

"I'm not sure what exactly he is up to, but I have no doubt that it's something bad," Harry said. "When I was behind him, I heard him telling Crabbe and Goyle that he was going to need a lookout for something."

"A lookout?" I asked.

"Still thinking that he's innocent?" Harry asked with a smug look on his face.

"What would he need a lookout for?" Hermione asked.

"He didn't say," Harry sighed. "But don't think that I won't figure out what he's up to."

"We have more important things to do, remember?" I reminded him. "We're supposed to be getting that memory from Slughorn - "

"I know that," Harry said. "But unless you have some brilliant idea to get it from him, I'm pretty sure I'll have some time to keep an eye on Malfoy."

"You go ahead and do that," I rolled my eyes.

"So you aren't going to help?" he asked.

"I'm not going to go sneaking around the castle to stalk some Slytherin," I said.

"I never said that we had to constantly follow him around," Harry said. "I just think it would be a good idea to keep our eyes on him."

When some more people piled into the room, we dropped the subject to avoid being overheard. I knew that Harry really felt like he was on to something with Draco, but I had a bad feeling that he was just going to get really caught up into finding out what Draco's secret was. He had a point in saying that the Slytherin was being really suspicious with his talking of "lookouts," but I wasn't sure that a full investigation of him was going to do us any good.

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	25. Peace and a Poisoning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 25**

The next Apparition lessons went about as well as the first one. Although a few people managed to get somewhere, one ended up with a leg on the opposite side of the room as their body, the attempts overall were fairly unsuccessful. I did everything I could imagine to concentrate my being on that hoop, but nothing seemed to work. Hermione seemed to be the most annoyed out of all of us because of how accustomed she was to succeeding at everything that she did. However, she seemed to be the most likely to make it anywhere in the room.

"I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong," she said in a panic as she stared at the hoop toward the end of the lesson. "I've repeated the steps over and over again!"

"Maybe it just takes practice," I shrugged. "At least you aren't the person losing body parts."

"That makes me not want to do this even more," Neville said miserably.

The only thing that I seemed pleased with was that Harry seemed to be unsuccessful with his investigation on Draco Malfoy. Through all of his attempts at watching the Slytherin, he still hadn't managed to find a single thing that he could use against him. All he knew was that he was up to something that he needed lookouts for, but that wasn't much to go on. Considering that he didn't have anyone else's help, the entire thing seemed to be a failure and he had nearly given up on it.

"Maybe you were right," Harry sighed as he sat down next to me during dinner time. "Maybe Malfoy's not doing anything wrong after all..."

"That must have killed you to admit that," I smiled.

"Don't rub it in," he muttered.

Seeing as we only had one more lesson in Apparition left, I had serious doubts that I was ever going to achieve this task and I had come to terms with that. Apparition wasn't a comfortable way of travel anyway and there were several other ways of transportation that I could use. However, all thought of Apparition was put on hold when I arrived at the Great Hall to see that I had mail from a person whose handwriting looked all too familiar. My heart nearly stopped when I opened it up and my thoughts on who it was were confirmed.

_Emily,_

_It's been a while since we've spoken and I know that it's my fault. I've been doing a lot of thinking - and listening to my brother's constant nagging - and I know now that what happened was my fault. You had every right to deny my proposal, but I hope you know that I didn't mean to hurt you. What happened was that I was just afraid of what was going to happen in the future or if there would even be a future for us - it was a knee-jerk reaction. I'm sorry if I hurt you by saying that we needed a break, but I just need some time to think so I don't keep acting like such an idiot. I haven't given up on our relationship and I hope that you are feeling the same._

_Love, George._

When Hermione caught me reading the letter, she waited for me to finish before she gave me the look that basically asked what was going on.

"Who is the letter from?" Harry asked.

"It was George," I said in disbelief as I read through the letter again.

"What did he want?" Harry asked with a hint of hostility.

"He was apologizing..." I murmured.

I let Hermione read through the letter and she looked so touched by the fact that he even sent the letter to begin with. Harry, on the other hand, took the obnoxious role of the overprotective brother and got irritable instantly after he finished reading the letter.

"He's giving her an explanation," Hermione said to Harry.

"He's just recognizing that he's an asshole," Harry muttered.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to me. Even though I was still in shock that George decided to send me a letter, Hermione almost made me laugh because of how happy she was over this. She enjoyed this way too much.

I tried my best to not think too much into what had happened, so I excused myself from the Great Hall so that I could write a reply to George in the Owlery. It took a good while to get out to the Owlery, but I was happy enough to see that I would be the only one in the room of owls. I assumed that this was only the case because most of the school was in the Great Hall eating at the moment.

After getting some parchment out of the bag I brought with me, I began writing the letter slowly, trying to be careful with every word as I feared that it may jeopardize my already shaky relationship.

_George,_

_I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings when I said no to your marriage proposal, but I am happy that you have come to realize my reasonings. The fact of the matter is that we are far too young to make such a commitment and I don't want you to feel like it was a reflection of my feelings toward you that I denied you what you wanted. It isn't that I don't love you, because I love you very much and I want you to know that I haven't given up on us either. I think that we should take some time too and just be friends for a while - I think it would do us some good._

_Love, Emily_

Once I sent Hoot on his way to George, I looked out ahead for a minute and hoped that George was doing okay wherever he was. It wasn't easy for me to think about our break, but I was doing my best to stay positive regardless. I was confident that we would make it back to each other in the end.

When I got back to the common room, I was surprised to see that Ron was sitting alone in a couch just in front of the fire. He was staring blankly ahead and, if I wasn't mistaken, looked incredibly sad in comparison to his usual self. Also, the lack of Lavender Brown around his face was slightly alarming in itself.

Unsure of whether or not he would even talk to me, I sat down next to him and took a chance of being turned away. We might not be on the best of terms at the moment, but that didn't mean that I couldn't at least try to fix this. After all, Ron wasn't the only one to blame for what happened between us.

"Are you okay, Ron?" I asked after a moment.

"Just fine," he sighed.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

I started to ask where Lavender was, but decided in an instant that it wouldn't be the best idea to bring her up in a conversation. There was no way that it would end pleasantly if he thought that I was just coming to bother him about his girlfriend.

"I'm not sure that I want to talk to you about it," Ron said, apparently taking the brutally honest route.

"Did something happen between Lavender and you?" I asked gently, trying to hide my hostility toward the girl.

Ron's eyes flickered over to me for a moment before looking forward once again. There was no doubt that he had no intention of talking to me about his relationship with Lavender and I couldn't really blame him for it. After all, it wasn't like I would be the most likely person to try to mend a relationship that I didn't even agree with in his mind.

"I know that I haven't exactly been the most helpful person with your relationship with Lavender," I said aloud to him. "But I can try to help you if you want. Regardless of my attitude toward her, I don't like seeing you all mopey."

It seemed to take him a minute of consideration before he would speak up again, but eventually he caved in and told me what was going on.

"Yes, it is about Lavender," Ron admitted. "But there isn't anything that anyone can do about it - don't take that personally."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "What's going on?"

"It's just that..." he hesitated. "I'm not sure that I want to be in a relationship with her anymore."

"Why not?" I asked. "You seemed content enough with her from what I could tell."

"It's not that I hate the girl," he said. "It's just that she doesn't want to do anything but snog!"

"Wait, that's a problem for you?" I asked. "I thought you were okay with that?"

"I was fine with it at first, but it gets boring after a while," he sighed. "I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with it."

"Have you told her that?" I asked. "Maybe you should talk to her about it."

"You think I haven't tried?" he responded. "I've tried being subtle - that's what Harry told me to do."

"What do you mean you were being subtle?" I questioned.

"I just tried keeping her mind on other things," he told me. "Like I'll bring up a conversation and try to actually talk to her, but it never lasts."

"So tell her that you have a problem with it," I said. "If she's not going to get the hints then you're going to have to be blunt."

"I don't know if I can," he admitted. "I don't want to hurt her feelings."

I sighed and thought about what I was doing right now. If Hermione heard that I was trying to help Ron out with his girl troubles then she would knock me in the head with one of her books. It was true that I wanted Ron to be finished with Lavender, but I also didn't want him to be unhappy and alone if there was a small chance that they could have a good relationship. It didn't matter how much I hated Lavender, I just wanted to help my friend.

"I guess that's just something that you're going to have to figure out on your own," I patted him on the back.

"Do you think that I should break up with her?" he asked.

"You really don't want to know my opinion on that," I laughed and Ron smiled at me. "In all honesty, just do what you think is right. If you don't think that things will work out, then I don't think that you should drag her along and make her think that things are still going all right."

Ron nodded and sat back in the couch with a sigh. I couldn't imagine how it must feel to have to decide on whether or not to break up with someone. The only thing that I knew was that the decision of separation was never easy and I wished that there could be an easier way for Ron to do this.

"Thank you, Emily," Ron said.

"It's no problem," I shrugged.

"No, it really means a lot," he said honestly. "It was wrong of me to ever doubt you and I really am sorry for everything."

"Me too," I said. "I guess that I wasn't really helping when I pulled all of those ridiculous stunts."

"Well...some of them were funny," he chuckled.

"You mean I can start doing them again?" I asked while nudging him playfully.

"I'd rather not have Lavender nag at me all day, so please don't," he said with grin.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything," I said. "I imagine that you already have enough on your plate without my interference."

He nodded in agreement just as I heard the portrait door open. I didn't see Harry or Hermione, but Ginny and Dean walked through the door with Seamus and Neville following close behind them. I didn't doubt that my brother and my friend wouldn't be that far off.

"Whoa, are you two talking again?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

"It's not that big of a deal," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Sure it is," she replied to her brother. "I've missed you two constantly nagging at one another."

"That's wonderful," Ron muttered, but couldn't help but put on a smile.

Much to my dislike, I noticed Lavender walking through the door next and my heart fell in my chest. Her face lit up when she saw Ron, but her joy was immediately extinguished when she saw me sitting next to him.

"What's going on here?" she asked as her eyes went from Ron to me.

"Nothing at all," Ron said as he stood up slowly and walked over to her. "I was just about to go looking for you."

"I'm sure that's what you were doing," she said as she looked at me skeptically.

"Hello Lavender," I forced a smile. "How have you been doing?"

"Wonderful," she said immediately. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," I said honestly. "Just curious."

It was then that I noticed that everyone in the room was looking from Lavender to me. Now that I thought about it, I realized that the last time we were together we were attempting to beat the life out of one another. You could almost feel the awkward in the room, but my eyes stuck with Lavender as I waited for her to break the silence.

"Right, well I was just taking my boyfriend away," Lavender said finally as she grabbed Ron's hand. "I wanted to have a little private time with him."

For Ron's sake, I didn't try to start any sort of argument. Instead, I allowed them to walk out of the room without another word escaping my mouth so that I could let Ron do what he wishes with the girl he considered his significant other.

"I'm glad that wasn't awkward," Seamus said sarcastically as he sat down where Ron had just been moments before.

"What was that about?" Ginny asked. "Since when do you care about Lavender - I thought you two hated each other."

"Who said that I liked her?" I asked. "I'm just trying to be the civil one here."

"So how are things between my brother and you?" Ginny asked.

"Which brother are you referring to?" I asked.

"I was talking about Ron," she said and then eyed me suspiciously. "Why, did something else happen with George?"

"Oh, well I think things are back to normal with Ron and me," I nodded casually as I attempted to avoid conversation on the latter part of that question.

Ginny looked like she was going to ask another question, but was silenced when Harry and Hermione came into the room. When Hermione saw me, she immediately stepped over and gave me a look that clearly meant that I needed to tell her everything.

"What?" I asked Hermione as if I was oblivious to what she was trying to get me to talk about.

"So what did you tell George?" she asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," I told her. "I basically just said that I was feeling the same way."

"So...what does that mean?" she asked.

"It means that we're taking a break from our relationship," I said. "We're just going to be friends for a while because I think that we've been moving too fast and we need to slow down."

"Can that even work?" Seamus asked.

"I think that they're doing the right thing," Ginny said. "They've been together a long time and I think that it's good for them to see what it's like without each other. It could be a really good thing."

Once everyone else put in their consoling words of wisdom, the conversation was dropped. Hearing what they had to say did raise my spirits a little bit, but it wasn't really needed. What was happening now was between George and me and I really thought that it would be good for us no matter how much it hurt. If we were meant to be it would work out in the end.

When Ron's birthday came around a few days later I made it a point to go out and get him something for his special day. Seeing as I could only go to Hogsmeade, it wasn't going to be anything glamorous, but I felt that I could get him something that he might appreciate there. Unfortunately, when I asked, Professor McGonagall told me that I couldn't go over there.

"What's happening over there?" I asked her when she denied my request.

"Professor Dumbledore told me that the village is off limits to students," McGonagall told me. "It's far too dangerous after what happened with Miss Bell and we won't be risking the safety of our students again."

Disgruntled, I found a way that I could send a message over to the village so that I could have a Wizards Chess set mailed over to the castle. Luckily I was able to get it over just in time to give it to Ron for his birthday.

"This is fantastic!" Ron said. "My old one was wearing out and this one is perfect - thanks a lot!"

"No problem," I smiled as he set up the pieces on the board.

"You do realize that you're going to have to play the first game on here with me?" Ron asked.

"Okay, but you should know that I'm only going to let you beat me because it's your birthday," I smirked.

"Right, like you have to _let_ me beat you," he laughed.

After making a promise that we would meet up and play a round after breakfast, I made my way down the stairs with a disgruntled Hermione. It was no mystery that she wasn't thrilled that I was on good terms with Ron again, but I wasn't going to bring it up with her.

When I got down to the Great Hall and sat with my usual group of friends, I was surprised to see that Luna had joined the Gryffindor table this morning. She smiled at us when we sat down and wished us a good morning as if her sitting at our table was completely normal. Then again, I guess out of the ordinary was normal for her and I just shrugged it off.

"So how have you been, Luna?" I asked her. "We haven't spoken in a good while."

"Just fine," she said with a dazed expression. "Neville was just saying that you all have been taking Apparition lessons."

"That's right, we have been," I nodded. "I haven't been any good, but Neville over there has made some progress."

"It was only once," Neville said sheepishly.

"And you fainted afterwards," Seamus laughed.

"At least I got somewhere," Neville said.

We continued talking about the lessons some more before I started to wonder where Harry and Ron were. Harry told me that he would be down shortly, but they hadn't made an appearance yet and it was starting to bother me.

"Maybe they're going through his birthday gifts still," Hermione told me when I asked her about them.

"I don't know," I said. "I just have a bad feeling for some reason..."

It was a good ten minutes later that I started to get twitchy with them not showing up. I hardly paid any attention to the conversation everyone was having as my eyes constantly shifted to the door. When a sad and confused Lavender Brown walked into the Great Hall alone, I started to full out panic.

"Okay, I'm going to find them," I told Hermione.

Just as I stood up, I noticed that I was not the only one that was moving. Some of the teachers at the High Table were moving toward the door with purpose as well and that's when I knew that something had to be wrong. When our paths crossed at the door to the Great Hall, Dumbledore and Snape motioned for me to follow them.

"What's going on?" I asked them.

As we walked up to the first floor, I noticed that Hermione was walking behind me with a worried look on her face. Obviously she recognized that something had gone wrong as well as we walked toward the hospital wing.

"It's Ron Weasley," Dumbledore said quickly as we stepped into the hospital wing. "Professor Slughorn informed me that there was an accident."

My heart sank when I saw the unconscious body of Ron Weasley laying on a bed with Harry standing by looking panicked and worried about his friend with Professor McGonagall standing at his side. When I stepped over to see what was going on, Madam Pomfrey pushed through and walked over to her patient.

"Is there a reason that I have so many people in this room?" the nurse demanded. "I only asked for Dumbledore!"

"Poppy, I asked that the others come along as well," Dumbledore told her. "Now, may I ask what is going on?"

Madam Pomfrey told Harry to tell us what happened as she brought over some potions for Ron to take to help what had happened to him.

"Ron had been given a powerful love potion in some chocolates that he found in the dormitory," Harry explained. "So I took him down to Professor Slughorn to get an antidote and after he was cured Professor Slughorn poured us all something to drink. Ron drank first and we discovered that what he had given us was poisoned, so I went and got a bezaor and shoved it down his throat."

So many thoughts whirled around in my head as I looked down at the pale, still body of my friend. He very well could have been dead if it wasn't for the quick thinking of my brother, but why was he in this situation?

My thoughts were broken when Slughorn came bustling through the door looking pale as ever as he saw everyone's eyes go on him. When I saw his panic-stricken look, I immediately realized that what happened couldn't have been intentional. Slughorn wasn't exactly the most normal person in the world, but he had no reason to intentionally poison Ron like this.

"Is he all right?" Slughorn asked.

"He should be okay in a few days," Madam Pomfrey informed him. "Lucky for you that Mister Potter was quick to think of the bezoar."

"I just don't understand," Slughorn said hopelessly.

"Did you bring the bottle?" Professor McGonagall asked. "The one that you said was poisoned?"

"It's right here," Slughorn said as he lifted it up.

Snape walked over and took it from his hands and observed it carefully. When his examination was complete, he looked back up at Slughorn.

"This is definitely the one," Snape said. "Why do you have this in your possession?"

"It was meant to be a present for Dumbledore on Christmas," Slughorn said. "I had no idea that it was poisoned - I only just purchased it and it hasn't even been open."

Either Slughorn was an incredibly good actor or he must have been telling the truth. I wasn't the only one that assumed this either as Snape looked back over at the headmaster in surprise.

"Whoever did this to the drink was obviously hoping that it would make it to you," Snape said to Dumbledore. "Mr. Weasley is lucky to be alive - this is a very deadly poison."

Ron began to stir a little bit and there were some moans of pain coming from his mouth as he did. Madam Pomfrey immediately stepped over to her patient and gave the rest of us the look that meant "get out." As we all stepped out, the professors left us behind as they took the bottle away for a more detailed examination of what was inside of the bottle. Seeing as they took Slughorn with them, I suspected that an interrogation was going to take place as well.

"You don't think it's Slughorn, do you?" Harry asked me.

"It doesn't seem like it," I said. "But Snape's right in saying that the drink must have been meant to kill Dumbledore and I highly doubt that Slughorn would give it to Ron if he meant to harm Dumbledore."

All of us remained silent outside of the hospital wing as we waited until we could return to Ron's side. My mind was still in a whirl as I tried to think of who had made the failed attempt to kill Dumbledore and instead got Ron. They had obviously done their research and found which bottle that Slughorn was planning on giving the headmaster, but hadn't thought it through enough to realize that it might not reach its destination.

Lucky for us the poison didn't kill anyone, but that only gave me little comfort as I realized that this was not going to be the attackers last attempt. All of us were going to have to stay on guard if we planned on making it out alive.

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	26. Suspicions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 26**

By the end of the night, most of us were still standing around Ron's bed in the hospital wing waiting for him to regain consciousness. Although the members of the staff hadn't returned, we had gained the company of Ginny who had been informed of what happened shortly after we found out. Of course, she was just as confused and worried about the entire situation as all of us and had no theory on what happened other than it must have been a complete accident on Slughorn's part.

"The man's about as threatening as a Pigmy Puff," Ginny snorted as she gazed down at her brother. "Going on that alone I know that there is no way that Slughorn, of all people, would try to poison a student for no reason whatsoever."

Unfortunately, family and friends were not the only people that received the news of Ron's poisoning. We had all managed to forget about the one person that would make the biggest production of all: his girlfriend. Just as the sun was starting to outside of the windows, Lavender Brown stormed into the hospital wing with tears streaming down her face as she hysterically searched for the "love of her life."

"Where's my Won-Won?" she asked Madam Pomfrey.

"Ronald Weasley is perfectly fine," the nurse answered after a moment, most likely considering who Lavender was referring to as Won-Won. "He is just resting over there."

She raced over to Ron, forcing Ginny to step out of the way so she wouldn't get run over, and wrapped herself around his neck as he lay asleep. Madam Pomfrey's disapproving gaze was felt by every one of us as she did so and it only took one moment for the nurse to voice her thoughts.

"If you plan to disturb the patient then I must ask you to leave," she said irritably. "He needs rest. What part of that is not understood?"

Lavender back off of her boyfriend and wiped the tears off of her face as she lovingly looked down at the hospital bed. Just then she must have noticed that she was not his only visitor in the room as she looked around at each of us. Her look of sadness and relief was suddenly replaced with a look that could only be described as betrayal.

"When did you all get here?" she asked.

"We were here before you were," Harry said. "Didn't you notice?"

"How did you four receive the news before I did?" she demanded.

"Well, I am his sister," Ginny pointed out. "And these three happen to be his best friends."

"I am his _girlfriend_?" Lavender said. "Doesn't that mean anything to you all?"

"Well, I am so sorry that none of us wanted to abandon our sick friend to come looking for you," I said as I suppressed the urge to completely lose my temper.

No one else bothered to say anything to Ron's upset girlfriend as she held onto his hand and let more tears fall from her eyes. The rest of us just rolled our eyes at her and took our own seats around the room so we weren't all crowded around the bed. Madam Pomfrey seemed even more agitated when she noticed how many of us there were, but she kept her comments to herself since we weren't upsetting her patient.

About an hour later, some of us were starting to get tired and I was considering going to the kitchen to see if I could get some tea or coffee from some of the house-elves. Just when I was about to ask Hermione if she wanted to go with me, the door to the hospital wing opened and my heart began to flop around when I saw two redheads walk into the room.

"We just got the news," Fred said as he walked over to Ron's bed.

"How's he doing?" George asked as he stepped behind his twin brother.

"He's fine," Madam Pomfrey spoke for us as she organized some of the vials of potions at her desk. "He should be ready to leave in about a week if he gets enough rest."

Fred and George nodded as they took a seat on one of the beds next to Ron's. All of us were looking at them as if they were some kind of alien, but Ginny was the only one to speak up.

"How are you here?" Ginny asked.

"We walked," Fred said as if their appearance at Hogwarts was nothing out of the ordinary.

"We were just in Hogsmeade," George shrugged. "Talking to the Zonko's shop owner when we got the letter about what happened. We figured that it wouldn't be any trouble if we stopped by."

"McGonagall seemed pleased to see us," Fred said with a sly grin. "Her job here must be so bland without us causing trouble."

"Seems like we have enough trouble without you," Harry said glumly as he looked at his friend in the hospital bed.

"True enough," Fred shrugged. "Had to be on his birthday, didn't it?"

"Ron's never been the lucky one," George shook his head. "Is it true that Slughorn poisoned him?"

All of us took turns going through the story of what happened again. As we all expected, they seemed to agree with us on saying that the poisoning wasn't meant for their brother, but for an attempted assassination of Albus Dumbledore.

We were only allowed to talk a little more before the nurse silenced us all and made us step out of the room saying that visiting hours were over. I strongly suspected that we could have had more time with Ron if it weren't for the crowd that we had created around him. Nonetheless, we planned on visiting him again the following morning to see if there would be any improvement.

Thankfully Lavender didn't stick around with us much longer and retreated to the Gryffindor Tower after a sorry attempt of trying to persuade Madam Pomfrey to allow her to spend the night with Ron. Not that it was unexpected, but she was denied this allowance and was told to leave the patient to rest.

"I almost feel bad for her," Ginny sighed once Lavender was out of sight. "She puts on a good show of acting like she's a wreck."

"I take it that you don't like her," Fred guessed.

"It's difficult to explain," Ginny said. "I like her as a person, but I'm not so sure that I like her dating Ron. It just seems...awkward."

When we stepped into the Entrance Hall, I noticed that George had been looking at me for a good while. I wanted to say something to him, but I felt like it was too awkward given our previous encounter with each other.

"How have you been?" George asked while the others continued talking about Ron in front of us.

"I've been better," I shrugged. "But I suppose that I'm doing all right. What about you?"

"I think I'm doing okay," he said as if he were trying to convince himself that it was the truth. "I've been staying busy because there's been a lot of work with the shop. We've been considering branching out again, so that's what we were doing in Hogsmeade. It's more of a plan for the future, but we figured that we could just look around."

"That's wonderful," I smiled. "Everyone loves your shop here. You should hear the students talk about it."

"I'm glad to know we're still causing trouble in the hallways of Hogwarts," George smiled.

"None of them will be as great as you two were," I pointed out.

"Of course not," he winked. "There's no competing with the Weasleys."

When we got to the front entrance of Hogwarts, all of us knew that the Weasley twins had only come to make a brief appearance on their brother's behalf. This thought was confirmed when we met Professor McGonagall who seemed to be waiting for the boys to arrive.

"Thank you for letting us see Ron," Fred thanked the Transfiguration professor.

"Thank you for not setting the place on fire," McGonagall smiled.

"There's still time," George commented.

Professor McGonagall threw him a look and everyone started laughing. Although I knew that Fred and George were responsible for the majority of her anxiety for the past years, I suspected that we were not the only ones that missed having them around. Ever since their departure from the castle the previous year McGonagall seemed to have grown a deep respect for the boys that caused Umbridge so many problems. Maybe it was because she was happy to see that their nonsense could be put to good use...or perhaps it was simply because she was happy that it wasn't her that was effected.

"Safe travels, you two," McGonagall said as she patted them both on the shoulders. "Do me a favor and stay out of trouble."

"You know that isn't in our nature," Fred winked.

She smiled as Fred and George walked out of the door. Just as the door was closing behind them, I saw George look back at me and give me a weak smile. My heart clenched once he was out of sight and I instantly wished that they could have stayed a moment longer.

* * *

The next few days only seemed to make Ron's time at Hogwarts more miserable as he remained confined to the hospital wing. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had dropped by the day after Fred and George and they couldn't have been more relieved to see that he had made it out okay. Before they left, the made sure to smother Harry with thank-you's for saving Ron before it was too late.

Even with all the visitors showing up at the door, Ron couldn't have been more restless and eager to get moving as quickly as he could. Madam Pomfrey was determined to make sure that he did the complete opposite as she made sure that he remained in the bed for the majority of the time and constantly was shoving more potions at him with each coming day.

"I don't know why she wants me to stay still all the time," Ron complained. "I am perfectly fine..."

"Ron, you were poisoned," I rolled my eyes. "She just wants to make sure that you are completely healthy before she throws you out."

With Ron not being out and about, it was no shock to see that people seemed to notice his absence and there was one person that seemed particularly delighted that he was confined to the hospital wing. That one person happened to be Cormac McLaggen who seemed to jump for joy when he realized that the position for Keeper was vacant at the moment.

"I'll take over for him, right?" Cormac asked the day before our final practice before the game. "There's no way he'll be in good condition for our game."

"Try not to sound so happy that he's been poisoned," I told him as he beamed at Harry.

"I'm not happy, I just - " Cormac began.

"You will have to take Ron's position as Keeper," Harry interrupted him. "Just remember that this is only temporary. He'll be more than ready to get back in the game once he's released from the hospital wing."

"Excellent," Cormac said cheerfully. "You won't be disappointed."

He ran off from where I was standing with Harry and looked like he had already won the Quidditch cup for us. He must have been waiting for an opportunity to prove himself since he lost the position to Ron at the beginning of the year.

"Can't wait to work with him," I muttered sarcastically.

"He's not too bad," Harry said. "I just hope he doesn't lose his temper when I give the spot back to Ron."

"I wouldn't count on that," I said.

Cormac wasn't the only one that had gotten word about what happened with Ron and it seemed like the entire school had figured out what happened by the end of the week. Thankfully I had managed to keep out of the way of the people bombarding us with questions, but Harry hadn't been so lucky. Lavender, knowing that I wasn't one of her biggest fans, had taken to talking to Harry a lot more lately since she didn't have her boyfriend to snog and he wasn't very thrilled about that. With each day Harry became even more twitchy and the upcoming Quidditch game was only making things more stressful on his part. At the end of our last practice, Harry went off to talk with Ron and I got the chance to have a word with our newest replacement as I approached the castle.

"Hey Emily - wait up!" Cormac called from behind me.

I slowed down my pace as Cormac caught up to me and I couldn't help but notice how pleased he looked with himself. This newfound role that he had on the team seemed to have brightened his mood significantly.

"Good job at practice today," he told me as we walked. "Slytherin isn't going to have a chance against us as long as you have a bat in your hand."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him suspiciously. What was he up to? We hardly if ever spoke before and now he feels the need to attempt a compliment, what was that about? Maybe he was just trying to be nice, but something about this encounter just seemed a bit off.

"You did pretty good too," I replied after a moment, not knowing what else to say.

"It's a real shame about Ron not being able to play this game," Cormac sighed. "But maybe it's good to have a fresh face on the field for once."

"It's only for one game," I said. "Ron should be up and ready for the next one."

"No doubt, but don't you think the team could use a new player every now and then?" he suggested. "I don't know, maybe switch me into the other games now and then. I'm sure that Ron would appreciate a break every now and then."

So that was it. Cormac was trying to talk to me about getting a better position on the team, but I couldn't quite understand why convincing me would do any good for him. It wasn't like I was the captain.

"You know as well as I do that the decision isn't up to me," I told him.

"What would you do if it was?" he asked. "You know that I'm a good player - maybe even better than the Keeper we have now."

"Ron's a good Keeper," I said. "He got the spot at tryouts for a reason."

We were on the seventh floor, just a corridor away from the Fat Lady's portrait, when Cormac stopped me in the hallway. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes in frustration as he started talking and tried my best to not loose my temper. It was obvious that he was just trying to use me to get to my brother so he could have a permanent position on the Quidditch team and that irritated me more than ever.

"Can't you just talk to your brother about letting me have a better spot," Cormac begged. "The team needs me there and I think you know that too."

"No, I really don't know that," I said. "If you have a problem with the team, then you're just going to have to talk to Harry about that."

"He won't listen to me," he said.

"And you think that I will?" I snorted.

"Harry is too blinded by the fact that Ron is his best friend," Cormac went on. "It doesn't matter how good I've done in practice or how good I do in the game tomorrow, he'll always choose his friend over me. He can't see that I'm better for the team."

"You aren't better for the team," I said bluntly. "You are intolerable and pushy - that's why he won't let you on the team. Don't try to convince yourself otherwise. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

"I'm not finished here," he said angrily.

"Wow, it's amazing how much I don't care," I muttered.

"Can't you see what your brother is doing to the team?" he continued. "He's only letting his friends join and that is not fair to everyone else."

"I'm pretty sure that you're just bitter because he didn't pick you," I said. "You were at the tryouts and you know that the people that are on the team deserve to be there."

"Not all of them," he said.

"You know, insulting my brother and his decisions isn't really helping your case," I said. "I have no interest in speaking to my brother about keeping you as a permanent player because no one wants you there. I would rather have a team of people who couldn't fly a broom than see you on the field every game."

"I don't even know why I bothered talking to you," he scoffed. "I thought that you would be more reasonable than your brother, but you're just as bad as he is."

"I'm glad we've finally come to an understanding," I said with a forced smile.

"You're such a b-" he started with a red face.

"I suggest not finishing that remark."

There were footsteps coming from behind me and I was surprised when I turned around to see Draco Malfoy walking toward us. His eyes were narrowed and he was giving Cormac a menacing glare that only he could pull off. For once, he actually seemed to be fairly threatening.

"What do you care, Malfoy?" Cormac scoffed.

"Because, although that name is fairly suitable for her most of the time - " he said.

"Hey!" I said defensively.

"I do not believe that she deserves to be called it by someone like yourself," Draco continued as if he didn't just indirectly call me a bitch.

"That's hardly your concern," Cormac said.

"It is now," he said. "Now I highly suggest you going back to your common room unless you would rather be in the hospital wing tomorrow instead of that game that you are so determined to be apart of."

"Is that a threat?" Cormac said.

"It's a promise," Draco said bluntly.

"What makes you think that I'll listen to you?" he asked.

"How about this," I said. "If you don't leave right now, then I'll make sure to have a nice little chat with Harry, the Quidditch Captain, about what you have to say about his judgement. Something tells me that he won't take too kindly to what I have to say about our replacement Keeper."

Cormac narrowed his eyes and then stormed over in the direction of the portrait hole without another word. When he was out of sight, I let out a sigh of relief.

"He's a bit dramatic, wouldn't you say?" I asked.

"Just a little bit," Draco said sarcastically.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing here?" I asked, suddenly realizing where we were.

"Just taking a walk," he said as his eyes shifted to the floor.

"On the seventh floor?" I asked.

"I get bored," he shrugged.

He was lying. There was no doubt in my mind that there was a legitimate reason that he was up here and it made me uneasy. His usual band of Slytherins weren't with him and that made me suspicious that he was doing something that he shouldn't be.

"So what was that about anyway?" he asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

"He was just irritated that I wouldn't talk to Harry about him taking over for Ron permanently," I sighed.

"Has he even played in a game yet?" Draco asked.

"No, but he figures that he proved himself enough in practice," I rolled my eyes. "It's really annoying actually - the boy completely goes out of his way to show off."

"So how did he think that calling the captain's sister a bitch would improve his chances?" Draco asked.

"No idea," I shrugged. "Apparently I wasn't going along with it like he wanted me to. He just can't get over the fact that Ron is the official Keeper."

"He's still in the hospital wing, right?" he asked too casually.

"Er...yeah," I said. "I'm sure that you heard he was poisoned and Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep him for a while to make sure he recovers properly."

"Right, of course," Draco nodded. "It's a shame that it happened to him, but it's just bad luck that he was the one that got it, I guess."

He started scratching his head and looking around at the area as if he was trying to find something to distract himself. Then he clapped his hands together and wiped the suspicious look off of his face.

"Well, I should let you go to bed," he said. "You have a game tomorrow and I'm sure you'll need the rest if you want to do good."

"You do realize that the game is Gryffindor against Slytherin, right?" I asked.

"Which is why I said that you'll need the rest," he said. "You'll need all the help you can get if you want to beat my team."

"Don't mock me," I laughed. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Sure," he said. "See you later."

With that, I took off toward the Fat Lady's portrait. It took a minute before I heard Draco's footsteps fade off in the distance and I took a moment after I said the password to look back before I stepped through the portrait hole. Something about that conversation gave me an uneasy feeling, but I couldn't tell what it was. What had Draco been doing up on the seventh floor? He could have just been out for a walk, but it didn't really seem like that was the case.

When I got into the common room, I saw that Harry was the only one in the room and was looking down at a piece of parchment. I only took a few steps in there before he looked up at me as if he was accusing me of some sort of crime.

"What?" I asked as I took a seat across from him.

"What were you talking to Malfoy for?" he asked.

"He was just - wait a minute," I said. "How did you know that I was talking to Draco?"

"That's not important," Harry said. "And what did you say to McLaggen? He came through here a little while ago and he didn't look too happy."

"Why are you assuming that I'm the reason for Cormac's anger?" I asked.

That's when I finally noticed what Harry was really holding in his hands. It wasn't just any normal piece of parchment - it was the Marauders' Map. He only knew that I had been talking to those two boys because of that map which made me wonder why he was looking at it in the first place.

"Were you spying on me with that thing?" I asked, suddenly irritated.

"Not you in particular," he shrugged as he began folding the map up.

"Then what are you doing with it?" I asked.

"It's no concern of yours," he said.

Then it dawned on me what he was doing. Harry had said before that he wanted to keep an eye on a particular Slytherin boy, but I couldn't believe that he had taken it this far to watch his every move.

"You've been using the map to spy on Draco?" I said in disbelief. "Harry, are you completely mad?"

"I told you that he's been up to something," Harry said. "You can't tell me that you didn't think it was weird that he was walking around the seventh floor just now."

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked. "He was probably just bored - I walk around the school all the time for the same reason."

"Yes, but - " he started.

"Did you even find anything against him?" I asked.

"No, I only saw him walking around this floor," he sighed as he shoved the map into his pocket. "If only I had been here earlier."

"You're out of your mind," I rolled my eyes. "He hasn't done anything to give you reason to spy on him."

"What does it matter to you anyway?" he asked. "If he really isn't up to something like you're trying to make yourself believe, then me spying on him isn't going to change anything."

"Fine, do what you want," I threw my hands up. "It's just funny that you're accusing him of acting strange and then you go and do something as odd as this."

Feeling like this conversation wasn't going to change Harry's actions at all, I said goodnight and went up to my dormitory. Nothing would change Harry's hatred toward Draco Malfoy and there wasn't anything that I could do about it. I just had to hope that I was defending the right person in this matter.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! The next chapter should be up next week. Also, since today is July 31, I would like to wish a special happy birthday to J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter! Have a great day everyone!**

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	27. Headaches

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 27**

"Would you just focus on being the _Keeper_, McLaggen!" I shouted as I flew through the air on my broom.

"Maybe if you were a decent player, I wouldn't have to take your position as well as mine!" Cormac shouted back at me.

"I'm sorry, how many Quaffles have you let through the ring?" I yelled. "Don't you dare try to preach to me about - "

"Stop arguing and _play the game_!" Ginny shouted as she flew past both of us.

The match against Slytherin wasn't going well at all. So far we were losing by so many points that I had stopped bothering to check the scoreboard to see if we even had a chance of winning. McLaggen, despite his constant bragging about how amazing of a player he was, was practically handing over the game to the other team. Instead of just trying to keep up with the goals, Cormac had taken it upon himself to try to play every other position on the team in a sorry attempt to win the game back. Naturally, this only made things worse and made everyone angry with him at the same time.

Trying not to continue lashing out my anger on our Keeper, I held tightly onto my bat and smacked the Bludger in the direction of the Slytherin Chasers that were making their way toward us. I managed to knock the Quaffle out of their hands and into the hands of Ginny who made her way toward the opposite end of the field.

"There goes Ginny with the Quaffle," Luna spoke through the microphone for the commentary. "Maybe there will be a score for Gryffindor after all!"

Even though I knew that Luna's comments were innocent, it only made me feel worse that our failure was being recognized by all the surrounding viewers. People could say what they wanted about Ron doing badly on the field, but McLaggen was far worse. He didn't know how to work with a team and it was going to cost us the game.

"Looks like Ginny missed the goal, that's a shame," Luna sighed through the speakers. "Now it looks like it's going back toward the Gryffindor goals."

Sure enough, the Slytherin Chasers were flying toward us with great speed. I got my bat ready as I saw a Bludger flying my way and was fully intending to knock it toward our pursuers. Suddenly, I felt the bat being yanked from my hand from a person that had flown up behind me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

"I've got this!" Cormac yelled back.

It only took me a second to register that Cormac had taken the bat from my hands and was trying to take over my spot, however, that was one of the last things that I remembered seeing before Cormac aimed to hit the Bludger, but instead hit me in the back of the head and everything around me went black.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, it took me a moment to realize that I was in the hospital wing. The bed next to me was empty and, judging from the darkness outside of the window, the sun must have just gone down. I began to sit up, but my hand flew to the back of my head when a pain surged through my neck and my eyes flew shut again as I tried to block out the pain.

"I don't suggest moving very much."

Snape's voice practically echoed through the room as he stepped over to my bed. Madam Pomfrey, who was making some more remedies at her desk, looked surprised to see that I was awake. However, she didn't rush over to my aide and allowed Snape to walk over to me.

"How long have I been in here?" I asked.

"A few days now," Madam Pomfrey answered from her desk.

"What happened?"

"You were hit in the head," Madam Pomfrey explained. "It was a nasty accident, if you ask me. You fell a great distance. If it hadn't been for the other players catching you in time, you probably would have had to go to St. Mungo's."

Suddenly the flash of Cormac stealing my bat away from me flew into my brain. If it weren't for the pulsing pain in my head, I probably would have gone looking for him right this second to give him a piece of my mind.

"I'm going to kill him," I sighed as I shook my head.

"I assure you that your brother has already taken that into his own hands," Snape said.

My mouth flickered into a smile for a moment as I pictured Harry's reaction to what Cormac had done. Something told me that no one had taken what happened too lightly. Snape stepped over to the side of my bed and looked down at me with an unreadable expression.

"Dumbledore asked me to check on your progress," Snape said. "Should I tell him that you are doing much better?"

"She still needs rest," Madam Pomfrey said. "That was a nasty hit that she got and there is no way that I'm letting her out of my sight for at least two more days."

"Two more days?" I asked in horror.

"You heard what I said," Madam Pomfrey said. "Head injuries are serious and I want to make sure that you don't go running around like a madman and land yourself back in here because you didn't want to wait for your head to heal properly."

"I will send word to Professor Dumbledore on her condition," Snape said and then looked back to me.

I felt defeated hearing that I would be stuck in this room for two more days because of Cormac McLaggen's idiotic decision to try to play the Quidditch hero and take over everything. He better pray that I won't see him when I get out of this room.

"Do you have any idea of where Harry is right now?" I asked Snape.

"He is with Professor Dumbledore at the moment," Snape told me. "Judging by the hour, I imagine that your brother will be joining you shortly."

Snape didn't have to even hint to me what Dumbledore and Harry were discussing. It was no mystery to me now that they had continued the scheduled meeting without me. Maybe this sort of thing should have bothered me, but I knew that the information that I needed to know would be sent through Harry and I would be caught up in no time. Getting knocked in the head with a bat wasn't going to slow Voldemort down and we needed to get as much information from Dumbledore as we could before it was too late.

Some more footsteps sounded through the outside corridor and, shortly after hearing them, Ron Weasley appeared at the door of the hospital wing. He looked pleased that I had regained consciousness, but his smile quickly faded when he saw that Snape was standing there. They stared at each other for a minute in distaste before I decided to speak through the awkwardness of the situation.

"So I see that you're out of the hospital wing," I said to Ron.

"I was released as they were bringing you in," Ron told me as he walked past Snape. "Harry explained to me what happened on the field - I can't believe that McLaggen is such an idiot."

"That came as a surprise to you?" I muttered.

"Not really," he laughed. "How's your head, by the way?"

"It still hurts when I move it, but I'll live," I said as I rubbed the bump on the back of my head.

When we went silent, Snape looked from Ron to me before taking his leave with a simple nod of farewell. Once he had stepped out of the room, it was almost like a weight was taken off of Ron's shoulders. It's almost amusing how uncomfortable Snape's presence made other people.

"So what have you all been up to since I've been out?" I asked him.

"Honestly, not much," he shrugged. "All you've missed is a pile of homework."

"Wonderful, I can't wait to catch up on that," I sighed.

"I'm sure that the teachers will cut you some slack," Ron said. "They already know what happened to you on the field."

Then a thought occurred to me that Ron was alone in the room with me. Since he had started dating Lavender, it was almost as if she were his shadow and it seemed strange that he had made his way here without her following him. Something seemed wrong.

"Is everything okay with Lavender and you?" I asked him.

"According to her, everything is fine," Ron muttered. "But she won't leave me alone and it's starting to wear on me."

"Wait, are you avoiding her right now?" I asked.

"Er...I might be," Ron said as he looked around his shoulders. "I just need a little space every now and then."

"Seriously, you really need to work on that," I said. "Have you talked to her about it yet?"

"I tried to..." he said with his eyes shifting around.

"You're an awful liar, you know that?" I laughed.

"Yeah, I know...I'm working on what to say," Ron shrugged. "In the meantime, when do you get out of here?"

"In a couple of days," I sighed.

"Sounds reasonable enough," he shrugged.

"Reasonable?" I scoffed. "This place is awful and I'm only going to get more behind on all the work I have to make up."

"I'm sure that Hermione will bring some up to you," Ron said. "Besides, you're going to have to make some room in your schedule anyway."

"For what?" I asked.

"I still need to beat you at Wizard's Chess," he smirked. "You promised me a game on my birthday and I'm still holding you to it."

"I'll be sure to do that," I smiled.

Sure enough, Hermione did bring my schoolwork up to the hospital wing. Even though I knew I had a lot to catch up on, I still didn't want to do the work now. Unfortunately, Hermione was determined that I wouldn't be buried with homework and helped me through some of it. Harry came up with her every now and then, but that only tempted me to ask him what happened with Dumbledore.

"I'll tell you once you get out of here," Harry said to me during one of his visits. "I just don't think it's a good idea to talk about it when we can be overheard."

If it hadn't been for patients going in and out of the room, he probably would have told me, but that wasn't the case. Students seemed to be going through the extra trouble of using Fred and George's products to get themselves out of class on a more frequent basis now that the school year was in full swing.

"Maybe I should have gotten something from their store," Neville sighed as he watched someone come through with a nosebleed. "It would be great to miss out on Transfiguration every now and then."

"That class isn't so bad," Hermione said.

"You say that about every class," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Every class except Divination," I laughed.

"You're never going to forget that I walked out of there, are you?" she asked.

"Not in a million years," I smiled.

It wasn't until my last day in the hospital wing that I got the news that Dean and Ginny got into a big fight after the game that I got knocked out in. Hermione warned me to be especially nice to her because they had been fighting a lot ever since then and there was a growing suspicion that they weren't going to stay together. The only one that seemed oddly delighted about this was my brother.

"What were they fighting over?" I asked Hermione.

"Ginny told me that Dean made some remark about Harry after the game," Hermione said. "She wouldn't say what it was, but she didn't like it at all and got defensive about it. Apparently he said that he was just joking, but Ginny didn't think about it like that."

"That's a shame," I said.

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "I always thought that Dean wasn't a good match for her."

"Oh really?" I asked in surprise. "Since when have you become a dating guru?"

"I'm just saying that Ginny could do better," Harry shrugged.

"Better with who?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," he said quickly. "Just...they didn't seem to get along well and I think that she would do good finding someone else."

"That someone else wouldn't be you by any chance, would it?" I asked.

Harry's face went red and he quickly started to deny it. Hermione and I rolled our eyes and went on with our work without saying another word about Ginny. We had discussed this before and there wasn't a shadow of a doubt that Harry fancied Ginny a little more than he was putting on. Ever since she started dating Dean he acted a little funny around her. I had my suspicions, but I usually kept them to myself. He would have to say something sooner or later, but I wasn't going to force him to make the first move.

When Ron visited later that day after Ginny left, Hermione was quick to leave. It only annoyed me more that they hadn't come to terms with one another and I really wished that they could stop acting like children. Everyone knew that their whole fight was that they cared about each other too much and just wouldn't say anything to the other person.

"So have you heard anything from Dobby or Kreacher yet?" Ron asked.

Harry shot his friend a sour look and I got the feeling that this wasn't supposed to be discussed. It only took me a moment to realize that the only reason they weren't talking about this was because I was in the room.

"Why are you expecting word from Dobby or Kreacher?" I asked Harry.

"No reason at all," he said as he scratched the back of his neck and wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Then why would Ron be asking that?" I demanded. "Ron - what is going on?"

"I really don't want to be involved in this," Ron said.

"Too late for that," I said. "What am I missing here? I want some answers."

Harry and Ron sighed and looked at one another. How long had they been keeping a secret from me? And what could they possibly not want me to know that involved a couple of house-elves? It seemed strange that they were intentionally covering up something so they wouldn't have to talk about it in front of me.

"It's only going to make you mad if I tell you," Harry said.

"I'll be mad if you don't tell me," I said.

"Fine," Harry said stiffly. "I asked Dobby and Kreacher to keep an eye on Malfoy, okay?"

It took me a moment to process what he had said and my expression immediately dropped. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I was more annoyed than anything else.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered as I put my head into my hands. "You're still following him around?"

"Well, technically it's not _him_ that's doing the following," Ron said.

All I had to do was stare at him to let him know that wasn't what I meant. Even for Harry, this was a low for him to have someone else do his dirty work.

"I cannot believe that you are making them do this," I said. "I'm just going to assume that Hermione doesn't know about this either."

"Of course she doesn't know," Harry said. "She would be furious that I was asking them to do anything for us."

"This isn't for us," I said angrily. "And what makes you think that this wouldn't make me angry? I cannot believe that you have taken it this far - I don't even know what to say to you right now!"

"You know that Malfoy is creeping around Hogwarts doing something that he shouldn't be doing," Harry said. "I'm just taking the extra precaution by having him watched. If he isn't up to anything, then having him followed shouldn't be a problem."

"You know what - do what you want," I said. "I don't even care anymore - you're beyond talking sense into."

"I'm just suspicious of him, okay?" he said. "It's not doing any harm."

"It's obsessive, don't you get that?" I asked.

"I know, but I think that I might be on to something," Harry said.

"If you say so," I rolled my eyes.

There wasn't any more discussion of Draco for the rest of the day because I truly had given up on trying to talk to him about it. It didn't matter what I said, Harry wasn't going to change his mind about what he believed Draco was up to. If he wanted to have him followed around all day and if he wanted to constantly obsess over what the boy was doing, then so be it. It was his problem and I was just going to step out of it.

* * *

The following day I was released from the hospital wing. It was wonderful to get out of that room and I just wanted to get back to my regular routine. The only thing that seemed to change about my usual day was that Cormac McLaggen seemed to be doing everything he could think of to stay out of my way. At one point I even saw him jump into a random classroom when he saw me coming around the corridor. I had no plans of getting back at him at this point because I figured that his fear was punishment enough for what he did to me.

The thing that was eating at my mind all day was what Dumbledore and Harry must have discussed while I was stuck in the hospital. When the night rolled around and the common room was clear of people, I immediately brought up the topic of what must have happened.

"So Snape told me that you met with Dumbledore?" I said.

"How did he know that - never mind," he shook his head. "Yes, we did meet together while you were in the hospital wing."

"What did he show you?" I asked.

"He showed me a couple of memories," Harry said. "He told me to tell you as soon as you got out of Madam Pomfrey's hands."

"Memories, as in more than one?" I asked. "Who did they come from? Were they important? What happened?"

"The first memory was when Voldemort visited this old woman while he worked at Borgin and Burkes," Harry explained. "She showed him two objects: a locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin and a cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. The memory only showed them talking about the objects and that was all, but apparently the woman was killed two days later and the objects went missing."

"So Voldemort wanted those items and killed her to get to them," I nodded. "But what would he want with them?"

"Dumbledore seems to feel that he wanted them because of his obsession with Hogwarts," Harry went on. "Hogwarts was his home and he seemed to feel that those objects belonged to him."

"It just seems kind of strange that he would go to that length to take those things," I said. "What about the other memory?"

"It was Voldemort coming to Dumbledore about getting a job at Hogwarts," Harry said.

"As a teacher?" I asked in shock.

"Yes, Dumbledore said that he had tried this before with the previous headmaster," Harry said. "He was too young for the post at the time, but he came back to apply again."

"But why?" I asked. "I just can't imagine why Voldemort of all people would want a teaching position."

"We seem to feel that he wanted to have more influence over the youth," Harry said. "Maybe gain the trust of other people so they would follow in his footsteps."

"So, in a way, he wanted to build his own army here," I guessed.

"Seems so," Harry shrugged. "But Dumbledore told him that he wouldn't give him the position because of the rumors that he heard about him - rumors, of course, which happened to be true. He knew that Voldemort was getting into Dark Magic."

"Wait a minute, what teaching position was this anyway?" I asked.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry told me.

"That's ironic," I scoffed.

"You don't say?" Harry said. "The strange thing is that not a single person made it through the year in that position since Dumbledore denied Voldemort the job."

Flashes of the teachers throughout the year went through my head and suddenly that all made sense. It had always been a running joke that the position was cursed, but I never thought that it was true. When I thought of who was in the position now, my stomach felt like it went into a knot.

"Do you think that Snape will be okay?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"I don't know, Emily," he sighed. "The odds aren't exactly in his favor."

When I went to bed that night, my mind was cluttered with everything that Harry told me. What was it that Voldemort needed with the locket and the cup? It must have been something important in his eyes if he had murdered someone to get to them. Sure, this was Voldemort and it shouldn't be much of a surprise that he murdered someone to get them, but he must have had some sort of motive. He was an evil man, but he surely had a purpose.

What concerned me as well was Snape's fate in this matter. Harry had been right in saying that every Hogwarts teacher in that position ended the year badly. Some of them went mad, some of them died, but it never ended well. Knowing Snape, he was probably prepared for the worst, but would it be good enough? He was a brilliant man and I just had to keep telling myself that he would be okay. I just hoped that I was right.

* * *

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